When we last saw Josh Childress, he was an underused forward with a killer afro and issues with his playing time. So he skipped off to Greece in hopes of getting his groove back. And get his groove back he did, assuming you define “getting one’s groove back” as making almost no progress whatsoever. You could define it like that; I mean, I don’t know grooves. Frankly, Childress was gone for an eternity and came back seemingly unchanged, like when my girlfriend returns from the hairdresser. Notice anything different? Uh, it was light outside when you left and now it’s dark? I got a fifth of an inch taken off my hair! Of course you did, just as Childress got a fifth of his FT% chopped off while with Olympiakos (.799 for ATL, .643 GRE).
But Greece ain’t the word no mo’. He’s a Sun now (a Sunnist? A Sunista? A Sunni?). So forget his time in Atlanta where he had a 15.4 USG% and left because of frustrations with his mere 29.9 mpgs. And let us forget about his two seasons in the Euroleague where his production remained largely the same as it was in the NBA despite significantly weaker competition over there. What’s in store in ’10? Short answer: More of the same. Shorter answer: The same. Texted answer: mOR uv thE saim \%/ <—that’s a whiskey glass. I guess our texting friend has bigger fish to fry than discussing Josh Childress.
There’s a bigger glut of small forwards in Childress’ way in Phoenix than there ever was in Atlanta and because of it, I can’t imagine he’ll play more than 25-27 minutes per game. Hedo Turkoglu and Grant Hill are likely ahead of Childress on the depth chart, with Jared Dudley not far behind him. So even if Childress acclimates to the Suns’ go-go gadget offense immediately, he risks not getting enough burn to make it worthwhile from a fantasy standpoint. That said, there is a silver lining. I know how you like your silver lining. I prefer silk lining. I can’t imagine silver lining is comfortable, but maybe it’s more of a power thing with you. Who knows? Anywho, Childress will move from the the slow, plodding Hawks teams of a couple years ago in favor of the 4th fastest team in the league last season. That’s gotta mean something. What’s also gotta mean something is Steve Nash’s presence around Childress. They’re both quick, both runners, both have hair that belongs in the mid-70s. They’re perfect! Perfect enough that Childress could make a nice late-round pick and an unexpected fantasy impact if that roster shifts around a bit during the season.
Season Projections: .519/.730/0.5 3pt/12 pts/5 rbd/2 ast/1 stl/0.5 blk/1.5 tov
