From ESPN.com:

Former Atlanta Hawks swingman Josh Childress is leaving the NBA for Europe. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on its Web site that Childress, a restricted free agent, has signed a three-year contract with Olympiakos of Greece.

Yahoo.com reported on Monday that Childress, who averaged 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds last season, had an offer on the table from Olympiakos for more than $20 million over three years. But Hawks general manager Rick Sund told the AJC on Monday that the four-year pro was just exploring his options.

The newspaper reported Monday the Hawks had a deal on the table worth nearly $36 million, with a first-year salary in excess of the mid-level exception of $5.6 million.

While the Hawks could match any offer from another NBA team for Childress, they do not have the ability to match an offer from a European team.

The Schmooze: Another example of how the declining value of the American dollar continues to affect all parts of our society. Money aside though…this is a good move for Childress and could be the start of a trend. He will get paid, will have to play less games, will be on a good team, and can potentially be one of the best players in all of Europe. Just as importantly, Childress is mature enough to handle a move to a foreign country. Now I’m not sure if we will ever see players the level of say Kobe Bryant, Lebron James , etc. taking their games to Europe over lucrative NBA offers…but for players that are right around that “almost-but-not-quite All-Star” level, why not go play in Europe and be a big fish in a smaller pond? The money is good, the level of competition is high (not NBA level…but if you took some teams from Spain, Italy and Greece…they would win a ton of games playing against NBA teams), and you can gain some European culture. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

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Tags: basketball, Europe, Josh Childress, nba

This is too good to not share with our millions of readers. Take a few minutes and stroll down memory lane with some of the leading fashionistas of our time…that’s right…NBA draft picks. It doesn’t get better than this. If you are struggling for what to wear at your next big event, take a look at these pictures to get some ideas. My favorite…that should be obvious.

Photographed by: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

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Tags: basketball, joakim noah, nba, nba draft

In a surprise move, Golden State Warriors point guard Baron Davis has opted out of the final year of his contract and will test the free agent waters. Why is this a surprise? I don’t know…maybe it’s because he is leaving about $18 million in guaranteed money on the table! Yes you read that correctly. Davis’ contract next year would have been for a little under $18 million. Now ultimately he will probably just re-sign with Golden State. The only teams with cap space are Philly and Memphis. He certainly isn’t going to Memphis. Davis in Philly would be interesting though. A line up with Andre Miller, Davis, and Andre Igoudala could certainly make some noise in the East. But Davis is a west coast guy and is just looking to milk the Warriors for a new contract. That being said, Davis is almost 30…not a good age for point guards. Davis will get paid no doubt. When healthy he is still one of the top 5 point guards in the league. BUT…HE IS LEAVING $18 MILLION ON THE TABLE!!! It is guaranteed money. All I’m saying is…if I told you someone was passing on $18 million you probably would think that person was pretty stupid. I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.

UPDATE 07/02/08 - So it appears Davis has accepted a 5 year deal worth $65 million offered by the LA Clippers. So doing the math that is about $13 million per year. Now while he is getting the security of a 5 year deal, the $13 million per year is a lot less than the $18 million he passed up from Golden State. It is hard to believe that Golden State would not have offered a deal with similar years and more money. So basically Davis has not only cost himself some serious dollars (he will now be making only $13 million a year), but he has undoubtedly stirred up bad blood with his loyal Oakland area supporters. It doesn’t help that he left them for a conference rival (at least if he went to Philly he would be in the Eastern conference). From Golden State’s point of view I would look at this as a good thing. Davis leaving frees up a ton of cap space and more importantly, they can officially hand the reins of the team over to Monta Ellis. Ellis is a superstar in the making who will now be the undisputed point guard leader of a team custom made for his style of play. Factor in that Davis has barely ever been able to stay healthy for a full season and has only lead them to the playoffs once during his tenure…and ultimately his bolting starts to look like a positive long term development for this team.

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Tags: Baron Davis, basketball, Golden State Warriors, LA Clippers, Sports