Hawks could be headed back to lottery … a year too late
July 25th, 2008, 12:02 am · Post a Comment · posted by jerrybrown
The Atlanta Hawks finally made it back to the playoffs last season — just in time to deny the Suns the most valuable chip in the Joe Johnson trade, that rare lottery pick for a contending team.
Now, with Josh Childress spurning the Hawks for a long-term deal in Greece and with very few options to replace him available this late in free agency, Atlanta is way behind with only eight players under contract and what looked to be a bright future is enduring at least a partial eclipse.
It’s all too late for the Suns, who have to be content with Robin Lopez — the player they maintain they would have taken even if they were picking in the back end of the lottery. The only consolation for Suns fans are for those who still hold an unhealthy grudge against Joe Johnson and don’t want to see him succeed. Losing Childress for nothing is proof that the Hawks still don’t have their front-office ducks in a row and, like the hapless Clippers in the West, could be headed back to oblivion in a hurry.
