Josh Childress leaves Olympiacos for the Suns. And now I’m sad.

Nick GibsonJuly 12, 2010

It’s been the Wizards, it’s been the Cavs, it’s even been a return to the Atlanta Hawks (hey, look who the AJC quoted at the bottom of the article. They really try to find some better sources). The Suns, I had not heard, but it looks like Childress will pack his mouthpiece and afro pick and fly to Phoenix to resume his NBA career. He’ll get 5 years and $30 million after the Hawks signed and traded him for nothing more than a 2012 2nd round pick (whoopdee-do). He’ll be joined also by the pride of Turkey (well, before last season’s 11 ppg debauchery), Hedo Turkoglu, who the Raptors shoved off in exchange for the Brazilian Blur Leandro Barbosa. A pretty internationally inspired day in the old association. Me likey.

While I’m not emotionally ready to pen my final farewell letter to Josh, both as a Hawks fan and a Euroleague enthusiast, here’s an unorganized collection of the thoughts I’ve had since I heard this news 15 minutes ago:

-Good for you, Josh. On days when Euroleague.net’s Top Plays feature left-handed lay-ups and bounce passes I’ll certainly miss your 360 yams.

-Sucks that you have to play with Steve Nash. That won’t be fun at all.

-A future second rounder? Really? So if I had run a bushel of apples and a pair of dirty sneakers over to Philips Arena tonight Childress would be playing for Euroleague Adventures next year? But it’s cool. Atlanta has a history of striking gold in the second round. I mean Solomon Jones, Salim Stoudamire and Donta Smith had sparkling careers with us. Or maybe we’ll draft a promising international big like David Andersen or Tibor Pleiss and trade them before they don a uniform. That’d be sweet. So yeah, a second rounder. Great idea, Rick Sund.

-Be careful though, brother. The US Airways Center is notorious for in-game road flares and firecrackers. Random thoughts continued beneath shameful display depicted below.

-Apparently Wesley Matthews has proven to be a more valuable asset than you. He will therefore earn millions more. I wonder if Portland misses Kevin Pritchard yet.

-One luxury afforded to Josh in Greece was the language barrier. He couldn’t understand what people were saying when they first saw how he shoots a basketball. His absence from the states might have given fans ample time to push those awful images from their brains, so Josh should close his ears for his first few nights in Phoenix.

-It just occurred to me that I have no intent on following Von Wafer’s career from here on out. Sorry. Getting off track. Back to Josh.

-For all the people in Greece who questioned this move from the start and constantly tried to hack away at every tiny imperfection in his game—he can’t shoot, he’s not adapting, he’s one-dimensional, blah blah blah whatever—hope yawl are happy? The All-Euroleaguer who sent you to the finals with one of the most miraculous plays in Euroleague history (video below) is gone. I don’t mean to generalize here—I know there are plenty who supported him from day one—but it seems to me that some people should try sinking into a couch and enjoying the game a little more instead of cursing every bad pass or missed jumper. Watching basketball can be pretty fun if you kick your shoes off and relax your shoulders.

-For those who’ll miss him in Europe: just wait a year. He’ll book the first flight to Athens when the NBA lockout hits.

So thanks for a good ride, Josh. I wish you much playing time and many Nash alleys for your ooping pleasure. With that, I leave you with the clutchest play in Euroleague history. Disagree? That’s what the ‘Comments’ section is for.