Hoopinion: Your Pre-Summer Josh Childress Update

[Hawksquawk]

Jeff Zillgitt and J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today have a quote from Josh Childress regarding his plan of action and a reminder of some of the relevant deadlines for his decision:

Childress can opt out of his contract with Olympiacos after this season but would be a restricted free agent with Atlanta. Or he can sign a qualifying offer from the Hawks for one year and become a free agent in 2011 or sign a longer deal with the Hawks if they offer one. Childress also can sign an offer sheet with another team, but Atlanta can match it. Or he can return to Greece for the final year of his contract.

He has until July 15 to let Olympiacos know his decision.

"It's going to come down to getting information quickly and weighing my options and making a quick decision," Childress said.

The 26-year-old said he wasn't leaning either way. But hypothetically, "I'd be leaning towards finishing my contract here because I signed a three-year deal," he said.

Two more important things to remember: 1) The qualifying offer to retain the right to match any deal offered by another team is $4.037 million and 2) The cap hold on Childress will be $14.533 million. Further information is available in this post from last summer.

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