It’s been a tough last decade cheering for the Hawks. And after this year’s playoff run, I grabbed onto some hope that maybe there was a good future in store for Atlanta.

Then free agency comes, where the 3,000 different Hawks owners said they were “going to do everything possible to sign the Joshes.” The Joshes, that is, being Josh Childress, top reserve from last year, and Josh Smith, one of our best young players.

Well, scratch Childress off the list. It’s not that another NBA team got him, but a team in Greee has given him an offer he can’t say no to. The offer is for three years, and is worth $20 million in guaranteed money. At the end of any year, he’s able to opt out of his contract.

“It’s obviously a bit different, being the first player to do something like this,” Childress said on a conference call. “But I think it’s a great opportunity, and it’s going to be a great experience for me.”

“I was in a situation that I really didn’t know what my answer would be when I got to Athens,” he said. “But it’s a great city and a great team, and they did everything to make me feel at home.”

Way to go, Atlanta Hawks. One glimmer of hope, and now you’re looking to throw away the next five years. Memo: Having just Joe Johnson (this is under the assumption they let Josh Smith go, and then probably let Al Horford go in two years) isn’t going to win any games. It just isn’t.

Remember a few years ago when the Clippers signed Brand to a deal, keeping a young team in place and making everyone believe they were going to make a run over the next few years? Well, they made a run one year, and I guess have decided that’ll be enough. The always stingy team has apparently lost the Elton Brand sweepstakes, and it’s apparently been won by Philadelphia.

I don’t have any details on the signing yet, but sources are saying the deal will be worth nearly $82 million. Given that the Sixers were able to give Detroit a scare in the playoffs this year, and now they apparently have Elton Brand. . . well, it certainly helps bolster the East, which is generally looked at as half the competition of the West.

It’s all rumors and speculation right now, but LeBron sat down in an interview and cleared the air a little on whether or not he’d join the Knicks. He didn’t rule out playing for the Knicks, not by any means. But he did say his favorite city is Brooklyn, where one New Jersey Nets team plays.

“My favorite borough? Brooklyn,” James said, choosing the proposed future home of the New Jersey Nets over the borough of Manhattan, where the Knicks play their home games. “Brooklyn is definitely a great place here in New York City, and some of my best friends are from Brooklyn, so I stick up for them.”

I understand his love for the city. With that said, for the last two years all we’ve really heard is LBJ complain about not having enough help down in Cleveland. News flash, LBJ: Jason Kidd is gone. And Richard Jefferson. That leaves you with Vince Carter, who can dunk, and some young guys that aren’t very good.

Ben Wallace is looking better and better by the moment.

Last night the draft took place, and outside of the Grizzlies getting OJ Mayo, who was originally drafted by the T’Wolves, for Kevin Love, there wasn’t a whole ton of surprise. Here’s a recap of the Top 10.

1.) Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose: This thing was done the moment they landed the No. 1 pick. It’s his hometown, he was the best player in March, and it all made sense. What happens to Kirk Heinrich is up in the air, but this guy will be a star in this league for a long, long time.

2.) Miami Heat, Michael Beasley: Beasley with Marion and D’Wade? Not bad. Not bad at all.

3.) Minnesota T’Wolves, OJ Mayo: He was traded for Kevin Love.

4.) Seattle Supersonics Russell Westbrook: This is the guy I felt would be the steal of the draft, but at the No. 4 spot, is he still a steal? Regardless, he’s going to play lockdown D on anyone that’s got a ball in front of him. Great pick.

5.) Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Love: Traded for OJ.

6.) New York Knicks, Danilo Gallinari: He’s an Italian guy, one I don’t know much about, but those European players are either great or they bust. The bad news? There’s not many people coming from Europe that play defense, something the Knicks really, really lack.

7.) LA Clippers, Eric Gordon: The one-year Indiana star. We’ll see how he does with the big boys.

8.) Milwaukee Bucks, Joe Alexander: He’s 6′8″, 220 pounds, and they just acquired Richard Jefferson. Where does that put Alexander on the roster?

9.) Charlotte Bobcats, DJ Augustin: Say goodbye to Raymond Felton.

10.) New Jersey Nets, Brook Lopez: Ric Smits, maybe?

I don’t have anything to link it to, but the ESPN Ticker is announcing that Jermaine O’Neal has been sent to the Raptors for TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and a first round draft pick. I’ll follow up with more as it becomes official, but the early indicator is that Toronto got the best of this one — they’ll have one of the best front-lines in basketball with Bosh and O’Neal, and they’ve got plenty of roleplayers off the bench who can come in and contribute at the point. More on this later.

Shaquille O’Neal recently rapped about Kobe Bryant, and some of the things he said have now been interpretted as racist and uncalled for. So uncalled for that he’s been stripped of his badge.

“I want his two badges back,” Arpaio told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “Because if any one of my deputies did something like this, they’re fired. I don’t condone this type of racial conduct.”

Shaq free-styled about Kobe not being able to make it without him, and also made mentions about not being able to breed anymore because he’s been fixed. Why he felt the need to mention that is a bit confusing to me — it’s got nothing to do with Kobe, and any girl that sleeps with a 7′0″ basketball player is going to know their vagina will be way too mutilated to ever re-produce, unless that basketball player is this oaf.

It’s probably not the new Dream Team — I mean, how can you beat Hakeem, Clyde, Charles, Scottie and MJ? — but it’s as formidable a crew as the U.S. has put together in a long, long time. The 12 man team was named today, and it lists some pretty good names.

The team is headlined by the likes of Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, but joining them will be Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Chris Bosh, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer, and Carmelo Anthony.

Though I’d leave a few of those off — there’s got to better player than Redd, Prince, and Kidd — it’s a solid squad. The starting five will more than likely be Paul, Kobe, D-Wade, LBJ, and D. Howard. That leaves guys like Jason Kidd, Deron Williams, and Chris Bosh coming off the bench, which is about as good a sixth, seventh and eighth man as it gets.

Oddly, not a single player from the World Champion Celtics. No one in LA’s complaining about that one.

Tim Donaghy might be pointing out the obvious at this point when he says that other refs in the NBA helped decide playoff games. In a letter written by Donaghy’s lawyers, he cites that refereers helped determine the outcome of games and extend series longer than they should have.

The letter also details an incident in the 2002 playoffs in which Donaghy alleges that two referees, who were known as NBA “company men,” wanted to extend a series to seven games. “Team 5″ could have wrapped up the series in Game 6 but saw two players foul out, lost the game and ultimately the series.

You’d never guess this based on the Eastern Conference, where every series seems to make it to Game 7. You’d also never guess this from the fouls called, given that Boston shot 38 free throws in Game 2 and LA shot 10. Hmmmm. . .

You gotta give the kid credit for the ingenuity of jumping off the car bumper and then ripping the rim down like Shaq himself, only not making the basket and cracking his head on the pavement afterwards (that’s the part that makes it not quite as smooth). Anyway, it was a good effort, and this is when video cameras are always nice.

Tonight marks Game 3 of the NBA Playoffs, and this year’s playoffs have taught us anything, it’s that the Lakers win. Not just tonight, but the next three games. I bet Boston the other night — if you’ve listened to me, you’re now 2-0 betting against the spread. If you listen to me tonight, and you bet the Lakers at -9 (yeah, it’s high, but it’ll hit), you’ll be 3-0 with a lot of loot in your cash, and you’ll be smiling about the playoffs no matter who you’re rooting for.

One glaring stat from the last game? Well, other than the fact that the Celtics shot 38 free throws, and the Lakers shot 10, not a whole ton. Unless, of course, you consider 38-10 a whole ton, like most normal NBA fans.