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Milwaukee officials meet with Josh Childress - Sports Rumors - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Milwaukee officials meet with Josh Childress - Sports Rumors - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:25 am EDT
Milwaukee officials meet with Josh ChildressThe Milwaukee Bucks are in the market for a replacement for traded forward Richard Jefferson(notes). Could Josh Childress(notes), of the Atlanta Hawks, be that man? The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Childress met with representatives of the Bucks Thursday.
Childress played last season with Olympiakos in Greece and has until July 15 to decide if he wants to opt out and return to the National Basketball Association. The Atlanta Hawks still hold his league rights and could match any offer made by another team.
According to the report, the 26-year-old Childress left Atlanta on difficult terms last summer, however, when he signed a three-year, $20 million deal with Olympiakos. It is possible he could sign an offer sheet with another NBA team, and the Hawks would then match it and work out a sign-and-trade arrangement.
It's unclear what assets the Hawks might be seeking from Milwaukee, but Hammond acquired two expiring contracts from San Antonio (Bruce Bowen(notes) and Kurt Thomas(notes)) in last week's trade that sent Richard Jefferson to the Spurs. The Bucks also have point guard Luke Ridnour's(notes) $6.4 million expiring contract.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Childress was in Atlanta on Sunday to speak with Hawks officials. He indicated he would explore his NBA options before deciding whether to return to Greece for a second season.
The 6-foot-8 Childress, the sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft, might fill a Bucks need at small forward, one created with Jefferson's departure.
Childress averaged 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in his last NBA season, appearing in 76 regular-season games.