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• GSWgirl said July 23, 2008

  How 'bout that dollar.

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  • CelticsFan24 replied July 25, 2008

    since the exchange rate is so bad, i wonder if thats $40 mil back in the States
• jvsports said July 23, 2008

  Wow. That's all I have to say.

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• tedhill said July 23, 2008

  Major blow to the NBA? Not really. The league ha enough stars and good players to survive without a problem. The Hawks on the other hand...uh oh.

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• WalkerSports said July 23, 2008

  I gotta say this opens up an interesting can o worms. There's a lot midlevel players who could jump ship and make those Euro's

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  • DreadsSwayin replied July 23, 2008

    i agree, thats y its a blow to the nba...its not all about starts, role players are also a reason for the high quality and if more of those players leave (for some good money in Europe) then the quality of the NBA will decline
• BlackLaw2008 said July 23, 2008

  Can anybody tell me why this man really made this move? I understand that he stands to make more money over there, but is that really all there was to it? Is that extra $5 mil right now worth all of the isolation he's going to experience as a foreigner? I guess him and his english speaking teammates are going to become best buds real quick or he's gonna start kicking himself very soon. Or maybe he's just really about the guaranteed $20 mil (I bet Shaun Livingston wishes he had a guaranteed $20 mil right now). Someone with some insight PLEASE explain this...

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  • DreadsSwayin replied July 23, 2008

    hes going to make more money and has a chance to be a star of the league.
  • stillatin replied July 24, 2008

    to make his money? id be secluded and stay in my new house and cruise around athens in my new car pffft haha
• PrepChamps said July 23, 2008

  Have to say this surprised me at first, but thinking about it, it makes sense. Basketball is a business for NBA players, and Childress must be getting paid well, or else he wouldn't be making this business decision. It will be interesting to see if other players follow suit. In the very least you could see players threatening to go overseas and using this as leverage in contract negotiations.

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• JohnPaulsen said July 23, 2008

  Childress has a rep for being "worldly," so he's seen as a guy who could live in Greece for a while and have a good time. Plus, the report said that the offer was for considerably more than the $20 million first reported. He was tired of dealing with the Hawks, who were more interested in dealing with Josh Smith's situation than Childress'. I believe his contract allows him to come back to the NBA next summer, so it was kind of an easy decision for him. He gets all that guaranteed money and the option to return to the NBA when he wants.
  
  I do believe this is a big blow to the NBA. This is the first time (that I can remember) that an American player of this caliber has made the decision to leave the NBA and play overseas. Childress, like Brandon Jennings, is a trail blazer, and he's paving the way for future players to look overseas for opportunity.
  
  This is proof that the NBA's restricted free agency system is a joke.

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• nbhatia33 said July 23, 2008

  haha nice

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• Thrilos said July 23, 2008

  Olympiakos has some of the greatest european players these days and Childress is gonna start dunks over Panathinaikos players!!! Am waiting for his red jersey to come out!! GATE 7

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• BlackLaw2008 said July 23, 2008

  Come on, man? Brandon Jennings a "trail blazer?" That dude was academically ineligible and just didn't want to sit out a year. And on top of that, he could LEGALLY get paid to play. That don't make you a trail blazer, just an opportunist. And I guess if you really are in it for the money and not for the love of the game and the honor to play in the best league in the world, then yeah, this was the right move to make.
  
  P.S. - OF course the contract is for MORE than the repeated $20 million. The $20 million is just what he gets AFTER taxes (which is what is really important, not what you gross).

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• JohnPaulsen said July 23, 2008

  Brandon Jennings is the first American high school star to head overseas to play a season before becoming eligible for the NBA Draft. Regardless of his motives, that makes him a trailblazer. You don't have to have altruistic motives to be a trailblazer, you simply have to be the first to do it.
  
  By the way, he wasn't ruled academically ineligible to play college ball. He scored so much higher on his second test that the NCAA made him take it a third time. He then made the decision to play in Rome before his third test results were released. I still can't find out if he passed or failed. If anyone has the link, let me know.

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• GoIggles15 said July 23, 2008

  This might be the best financial move I've seen in sports. In his new contract, he can opt out every year. So, he can play for Greece (top Euro team), make 5 million more, and get away from the Hawks. So, he can come back in 1 year and sign for any team in the NBA. That might be the smartest thing I've ever seen a player do to get away from a team that doesn't have a great future. Also, he is wordly, so he gets to live in Greece. Genious

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• JohnPaulsen said July 23, 2008

  The Hawks kept yanking Childress around and he finally had had enough. Good move for him. Bad move for the NBA (and especially Atlanta).

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• KBfan4lyfe said July 23, 2008

  all about tha dolla bill yall JK!!
  that is crazy to think someone would leave the nba like that

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• BHAM11 said July 23, 2008

  Josh Childress will never be a star in the NBA, thats why he left.

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  • JohnPaulsen replied July 24, 2008

    Um, I think there are about 20 million reasons why that statement is incorrect.
• 090480 said July 24, 2008

  brandon jennings started all all of this... haha love that guy, wasn't smart enough to make it college, but smart enough to make money

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  • DreadsSwayin replied July 25, 2008

    or just smart enough to make millions while his college friends are playing for free.
• DoWork said July 24, 2008

  I think it's a well played decision. It all comes down to your financial future and trying to secure it. Plus, Gyros are awesome here in Memphis and could only be that much better in their origin. I take my hat off for this guy for having the marbles to make this move. Maybe the NBA will rethink their policies; their officiating; the way they treat players (superstars and role players; I know I'm not the only one who sees the discrepancy);and the way the NBA game is played and then more people will watch, players will be more loyal, and in turn everybody spends more money watching the game, wearing the game, and advertising at the game. It is just a business, right? Or is it all about the love of the game? What does that mean anyways... Happy marriages end all the time over money... This shouldn't really be anything new... Maybe Childress and the NBA need marriage counsilling.

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• pallerio said July 24, 2008

  The Olympiakos' supporters welcome Josh to Pireaus. The 2 brothers that lead the team wanted a big signing for 2 years now. Last summer made an offer to Webber. Now our team is a favourite of winning the Euroleague cup. Papaloukas, Vuicic, Halperin, Childress, Shortsianitis, Bourousis, Greer.. Awesome!!

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• stillatin said July 24, 2008

  anyone else think the olympiakos team googled josh smith but got him instead?

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  • CelticsFan24 replied July 25, 2008

    probably
• sandlansd said July 25, 2008

  Wait... pallerio... who?!? Only name that is even remotely familiar is Childress... why would you even bother to list the entire team. lol.

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