RealGM

Hey guys. Long time lurker here with a couple of questions:

1. Is Josh Childress still a restricted free agent? And if so, could we use him to reel in some bench help?

2. Why hasn't Atlanta seriously considered having Damien Wilkins come off our bench? I think Billy Knight toyed with the idea in the past but didn't follow through. His uncle works for us. I want to say that if ATL wants him, we could make it happen.

3. Are there any other waived/bought out veterans that might come this way? I know its not a need, but I wouldn't mind having Larry Hughes on our bench this season.

josh childress is a restricted free agent but we could only use him if he want's to come back to the NBA this offseason. if he stays another season in Europe, he'll become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 11.

damien wilkins has had a long (and expensive for his skills) contract given to him by the sonics that's made him hard to get, he should be a free agent this summer though so sund could look at him if mo evans opts out.

there have been reports that the hawks have an interest with Big Z, the blog writers don't think he'll be a good fit with our defensive philosophy. he would be a big help in my eyes though.

Not an expert, but I'll try to field them.

1. Yes, he's an RFA. Not right now and in reality no in the long. You can't trade the rights of an unsigned RFA (not to mention the trade deadline has past). In the off-season, he can be signed or signed and traded provided he opts out of his Greek deal first. The problem is how close the team is to the luxury tax and the number of teams with cap space. That makes the likelihood that if he was signed to an offer sheet we'd probably have to let him walk. Even a sign and trade would be unlikely if we have to take back matching salary. He's also very unlikely to resign here given the bad blood he has over the negotiations the last 2 years. If Joe leaves then the possibility they try to get some for Josh Childress increases, but is still kind of low.

2. Given his salary and position it wasn't considered the needed area of tweaking. He is a free agent this off-season and likely taking the vet minimum if he wants to stay in the league. Atlanta is a reasonable possibility depending on how the rest of the lineup fills out. He always seems to play well when visiting Atlanta which makes him seem more attractive than he really is. His production on a whole has never been too great in the NBA.

3. Big Z is the only target right now, but that is a long shot. The key is that they can't be on another roster March 1st. That preserves the player's post-season eligibility. Right now it's unclear who will be bought out by that date, but I don't expect many impact guys. I don't think Larry Hughes is a real candidate as the team is very protective of chemistry and he has a bit of a reputation. When in doubt I think they will err on the conservative side.

2. Why hasn't Atlanta seriously considered having Damien Wilkins come off our bench? I think Billy Knight toyed with the idea in the past but didn't follow through. His uncle works for us. I want to say that if ATL wants him, we could make it happen.

i really want to see Damien in a Hawks uniform, but if you think about it, Hawks would have a hard time finding playing time for Wilkins

Zaza/Joe Smith/Mo/Crawford/Teague

although i really like Damien's game, he would just end up eating Evan's minutes, and Mo's game is better for the Hawks than Damien's game. Mo can do everything that Damien can do and he has a better 3pt shot.

Is Damien Dominique's nephew?

^ yep