[97fan]

My understanding -- someone please correct me if I\'m wrong -- is that the Hawks had very little leverage after they re-signed Joe Johnson to a max contract. Everyone knew they couldn\'t match what Childress would get on the open market. Therefore the sign-and-trade allowed them to get something, rather than nothing, which is what they would have gotten if Childress signed outright with another team and the Hawks failed to match.

[97fan]

My understanding -- someone please correct me if I\'m wrong -- is that the Hawks had very little leverage after they re-signed Joe Johnson to a max contract. Everyone knew they couldn\'t match what Childress would get on the open market. Therefore the sign-and-trade allowed them to get something, rather than nothing, which is what they would have gotten if Childress signed outright with another team and the Hawks failed to match.