Former Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Childress was once considered somewhat of a pioneer for taking his talents overseas to play with Olympiacos. Now he can't understand why a player would entertain the thought of going to Europe if they already had a contract in the states.
‘No, I wouldn’t,’ he says. ‘And I don’t know why guys would. I understand that guys really want to play. But you sometimes have to look at what you have and treat this as a business. The only way I could see it making sense is if you’re a player from a particular country going back. But for an American player with a good-sized guaranteed deal here, I can’t see why you’d do it.’
We have talked about the risks associated before. A player like Deron Williams isn't likely to get a lot of static from the Nets because they have hopes of resigning him in the future. However, a player such as Childress that has a big contract and didn't exactly perform as expected last season could have a lot to lose if he ventured to Europe and suffered a major injury.