“The first impulse after getting the news about Al was ‘We’ve got to hurry up and do something, we’ve got to hurry up and do something.’ Things have settled down a little bit. We’ve made the decision not to get in a hurry to do anything. We’ll look and we’ll talk about the team and we’ll talk about possibilities. But we are not going to hit the panic button right now and start bringing in guys. We are not quite sure if that’s the actual move we want to make. We are still evaluating the situation.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Could the Hawks use another big man in the middle? Of course but having Josh Smith affords them the opportunity to really evaluate the market over the next few weeks. Atlanta has a few games at home over the next few days so I’m sure they’ll take that time to talk and begin to explore options.

I’m sure it helps that they also won their first game without Al by thirty points.

That’s right they’re still putting up Top 10 plays without their superstars as guard Terrel Harris grabbed a loose rebound, tossed it behind his back to a waiting Chris Bosh dropped in an easy layup. It would have been even better though if he slammed it home. Harris grab and pass though makes it Top 10 worthy.

The ceremony was held at the home of the singer’s uncle and aunt, the famous Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra, and his wife, Nora Vega de Guerra.

The report said the marriage came as something of a surprise because the newlyweds had not previously ­confirmed their ­engagement, and because few among the guests even knew they were going to a wedding.

Local media said the ­ceremony was simple but emotional, attended only by the couple’s parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and other close relatives. The two tied the knot on Christmas Eve because the NBA’s 2011-2012 season began on Sunday after being shortened due to a lengthy lockout. (Chicago Sun-Times)

Here’s a picture of the beauty, they’ll be a photo gallery coming tomorrow!

“I thought somebody got here before me,” he said, chuckling. “I didn’t know I was the first one. I wanted to be able to come here and use the facility. Being able to come here, this is my sanctuary. I can relieve stress and clear my mind and work on my game.” (Atlanta Journal – Constitution)

Smith was the total team guy today in front of reporters. He actually wouldn’t even address the Yahoo Sports report that said he’d welcome a trade out of Atlanta. In fact he actually sounded like he wanted to be a part of what the team has going.

“We have an opportunity to do something special,” Smith said. “We have to know it and believe in it, no matter who [the opponent] is. … We have to be able to jell quickly. Everyone has to be able to buy into what Coach Drew has.” (Atlanta Journal – Constitution)

I’m sure Smith is just playing nice as teams have minimal time to come together as a unit. The reason being is that he’s right, the Hawks do have the opportunity to do something special.

They made it to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 2010-11 before losing to the Chicago Bulls. Even better they return seven of their eight top players, with the only possible loss being Jamal Crawford.

So yea, they’ve got a great opportunity by bringing back that kind of talent and a unit that’s won together while other teams will be trying to become a team.

Crawford is one of the top available free agents, and according to a source close to the veteran shooting guard, he prefers returning to the New York area if he does not re-sign with the Atlanta Hawks. Miller, due to his location, has close ties to both the Knicks’ and Nets’ organizations. (NY Daily News)

The NY Daily News articles mentions the New Jersey Nets being a possibility and personally I think that’s probably his best option.

The Nets have plenty of cap room and a HUGE need for talent. Their offense absolutely blows, only scorer they have is point guard Deron Williams. The combination of these two will at least give them an explosive backcourt. It would also help open up the under the basket area for Brooks Lopez and Kris Humphries (if he returns) as teams would really have to guard the perimeter.

Adding Crawford to that trio would give the Nets a nice core for when they move to Brooklyn for the 2012-13 season. A year that the Nets would definitely want to transition from a 24 win cellar dweller to a playoff contender. It would also give them a chance to one up the Knicks, if they actually are interested.

In my opinion, the Knicks will kick their tires on it but nothing will happen. Only way they’ll be able to bring Crawford in is the mid level exception (which I highly doubt he would take) or a sign and trade. A sign and trade that would undoubtedly eat cap space and take away bargaining chips that they’d like to use for a Chris Paul or Dwight Howard.

Only thing for certain is this, if Crawford does return to New York there are no hard feelings for his trade to Golden State after just 11 games.

“Why not? I don’t think the trade was personal,” he said. “It was all about 2010 and the players you can possibly get. I love Atlanta. I want to work out an extension here, but if I become a free agent it’s not the end of the world.” (NY Daily News)

Days after qualifying for the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season, newcomer Galatasaray of Turkey announced on Friday the return of big man Zaza Pachulia to Europe’s top competition. (Euroleague.net)

There’s no word on whether or not the deal has an opt-out clause should the lockout be lifted, but I’m sure it has one. If you’re not playing in China (where the league doesn’t allow them) then a player would be a fool not to get one included in his contract.

Pachulia may just be a back-up big man in the NBA but this shows how dire the NBA situation is, more and more players are taking their talents overseas. The international boys are just going home and the local boys are saying hmmmm there is big money over there too.

Ownership better hurry and work out something before most of their players are making money while they have empty arenas.

Like I said there were more impressive plays but lets enjoy the moment with Zaza, he finally got his dunk on.

Yea, Childress helped bring the Greek Cup to the organization but thanks to some new tax laws in the country he’s become a little too expensive for them. See his $20 million contract is AFTER taxes, which means his cost to the team is that much more. Under the current tax laws his contract is actually $32.5 million but when the new laws go into effect that number will sky rocket.

The new tax laws in Greece will double the tax rate of basketball players. I’m not quite sure why the country is singling them out, other then the insane amount of money that is paid to international players to come to the country. So you can see why the Olympiakos management would love it if he opts out. I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave him some sort of buy out to to do so.

The decision maker for Childress won’t be any tax laws but if he could find a solid job in the NBA. In the AJC article they report that Atlanta Hawks general manager Rick Sund is going to extend a $4.8 million qualifying offer to make sure the team retains his rights.

The moves makes sense for the Hawks. If Childress decides he wants to come home but not play for the Hawks they can use him as trade bait in a very talent rich trade market.

Childress’ stock has gone up with his international experience so he should be able to get some team to offer a contract worth more then the qualifying offer AND be willing to trade with the Hawks for him.

The real question is how much does Childress value himself? Last year he did turn down a $5.5 million offer from the Milwaukee Bucks as he’s due to make $6.5 million in Greece.

I’m going to start off with the Dunk of the Night for one big reason. Everyone is saying LeBron James posterized Dwyane Wade last night, which is soooooo not true. What are all these people smoking? Stop drinking the kool-aid please! Wade was playing catchup the entire play, trying to prevent a fast break. Granted when he did get his hands in the air to foul LeBron it was too late, but in no way did the King dunk on Wade.

With Wade and James facing off you knew Wade would also get in on the highlight reel. Wade showed off his blazing speed by sprinting after a loose ball and turning it inot a big time dunk.

One last dunk from that game, this one from Jermaine O’Neal. He drove baseline on Shaq for an easy slam, the reason I show it is look how Shaq just backed away from the play instead of contesting the dunk. Come on diesel!!! Disappointing.

Jason Richardson of the Phoenix Suns had a pretty sweet baseline jam of his own last night, dunking over two Utah Jazz defenders. Unlike Shaq the Jazz players tried to make a defense, even at the risk of being embarrassed.

The last dunk of the day wasn’t tops of the night but probably the most entertaining. Houston Rockets’ Carl Landry had a powering tomahawk jam over Atlanta Hawks’ rookie Jeff Teague. Teague saw what was coming and got the hell out of dodge.