Hoops TV has an excellent interview with Josh Childress (HT TrueHoop). It covers everything from growing up in Compton to attending Stanford and of course his experience in Greece.
You can read the whole thing to be reminded how sick-nasty his AAU team was, what he has on his ipod, and which Hawk players he still talks to (I am a little sad he doesn't say Zaza). But two questions really jumped out at me.
HTV: Was it hard to watch the Hawks knowing that you could have been playing on that stage?
CHILDRESS: No because I was in the playoffs too. It wasn't like I left early. We were in the finals in our league and so I was busy doing that.and
HTV: You played a lot less games and minutes overseas in Greece and your production (8.8 ppg. & 4.6 rpg.) dipped from your time in the League (NBA career averages of 11 & 5.6 per game). Was the decline in your numbers frustrating for you?
CHILDRESS: It was frustrating not playing the same amount of minutes and all that stuff but at the end of the day it comes down to wins and losses and we didn't win the championship like we should have and that's a bigger concern than my stats. So I'm looking next year to come out with a new found fire and to finish off the season with some trophies.
I was never privy to the conversations that happened behind closed doors, and I freely admit any bitterness I have toward Josh Childress simply comes from the selfish desire for the Hawks to be the best team possible. It is hard to chastise a person for wanting to make the most money possible when my only argument is that I would have enjoyed watching my favorite team win more games.
Still, outside of money (which is kind of like talking about a restaurant and saying, "well outside the food, the place was great."), Childress has to classify Greece as a disappointment right? He wanted a starting job, desired a larger role on a team, did not like the direction of the Hawks and/or attempted to control his future despite his restricted status.
Well, after this summer, it is clear the Hawks are still very much in the driver seat when it comes to controlling where Childress plays in the NBA, the Hawks went further in the playoffs, Childress avg. less minutes and points this season than in the NBA, and he played one of the most important games of the season to an empty gym.
In the end, Childress is this weird test case for looking at how a fan aligns his or her loyalty for either the organization or the player can shift and turn and randomly be formed by the way the media covers it and the needs of the team.
Selfishly, I want to say "I told you so" but I was never in a place where that carried any weight so I guess I will just say this instead, "I hope the extra money is worth it." Both reactions are probably ignorant double standards but what would a fan do without those.