Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith is not on trading block
Smoove isn't leaving the Highlight Factory anytime soon. (Hyosub Shin / hshin@ajc.com)
I haven’t said much about the Josh Smith trade rumors because there’s nothing to them. You can guess how well that approach worked.
It started with Chard Ford’s ESPN.com blog post, which he based on league GMs looking at Atlanta’s roster and speculating that ASG can’t afford to keep Josh, J.J., Al, and Marvin together after this season (Rick Sund said he never heard from Ford).
That led to more speculation but still not much in the way of hard news. And as these things tend to go, the secondhand speculation aspect of the original “story” gets lost and suddenly the rumor is the Hawks are looking to move Smoove. (Rule of thumb in these cases: Beware the question mark headline.)
It’s not true. Sund didn’t want to comment on the rumors, which is his usual policy, but Smoove confirmed that team management reassured him he’s not on the trading block.
“They didn’t need to,” he said. “Some people just want to make it interesting and put lies out there on blogs and stuff to amuse people.”
He said he doesn’t read magazines, newspapers (ouch) or blogs (dang). But as you can imagine people around him do and reporters ask him questions and so he’s aware of the speculation. He said it doesn’t affect him, though.
“I’m here to play basketball,” Josh said. “People just throw things in the air and see what they can get out of it.”
It’s not hard to disconnect the dots that Ford’s GMs (you see what I did there?) tried to make.
First, the finances: Atlanta’s payroll this season is about $69 million, right up against the tax threshold. Next season the Hawks have roughly $64 million committed to eight players when including the $12 million Horford will make in the first year of his extension and subtracting potential free agents Jamal, Mo, Twin, Etan and Josh Powell (Pape Sy’s deal is not guaranteed for 2011-12).
The Hawks would have to add their first-round draft pick’s salary and four other players to reach the league minimum of 13. But it’s not like they need to start shedding salaries to avoid paying the luxury tax next season because, as it stands now, they will be under the threshold next season, too.
The more relevant question is how will they be able to improve the team next season with rotation players Jamal and Mo gone and little wiggle room under the tax. (The new CBA might help answer that question.) That leads to the other part of this equation. Sund likes the team as constructed and wants to see if the core can grow to the point of becoming a real championship contender. Whether you agree with that philosophy or not, Sund has consistently said that’s how it’s going to be.
So then why would the Hawks re-sign J.J., extend Al and then suddenly be “forced to put Smith on the market soon” as Ford speculates? They wouldn’t. They aren’t.
The Hawks have built their core and now will wait and see what happens. If they are struggling in January, then maybe all this speculation would make more sense, but right now the Hawks want to see how far they can go with this group. And if they make the East finals or otherwise show real progress, then they would have to decide just how much they are willing to spend to add more pieces to the core next season (and, again, the CBA is going to play into that).
Now if some team came along and offered a top 5 or 10 talent for Smoove, then of course Sund would consider that deal just like any other sane GM. But Sund is not looking to move Josh and the Hawks aren’t under any pressure, financial or otherwise, to trade him or any of their other core players right now.
So I suggest you do as Smoove does and shrug off the speculation, focus on basketball and see how this all plays out.
MC
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89 comments Add your comment
KevinM
November 5th, 2010
4:53 pm
While you can’t plan injuries, having Marvin, Mo and Pape down at the same time wasn’t expected but you should at least plan for any situation.
As someone mentioned before, couldn’t Damien Wilkins come in and give us a lift if nothing other than defensively?
sam'l
November 5th, 2010
5:07 pm
When did a player like Jamal Crawford become expendable?
Yes, he is a part of the core. Crawford is better than either Childress or Flip Murray. .
What am I missing here?
In the past year, we’ve heard passionate pleas to trade J. Johnson, Horford, J. Smith, M. Williams now Jamal.
I don’t get it.
Suck it in…..and sign the dude.
You sure as heck won’t replace him…….
Najeh Davenpoop
November 5th, 2010
5:20 pm
Great post MC. I prefer your approach to Chad Ford’s speculative nonsense.
One thing that is being overlooked in all this is the possibility that there may not even be a luxury tax in the next CBA, especially if there is a hard cap. And even if the tax stays, who knows whether the formula used to determine the threshold will be renegotiated.
Melvin
November 5th, 2010
5:35 pm
Spurs waive Bobby Simmons and Hawks need a backup SF… I say we bring him in for at least a workout…
jfreak13713
November 5th, 2010
5:49 pm
Smoove ain’t going anywhere! This team is built to win most of the games it plays and they will do just that. The playoffs are another story and we’ll just have to wait and see if these Hawks have learned and grown into real contenders or if they are just regular season pre-tenders!
I wouldn’t change a thing unless the RIGHT center came along and that ain’t going to happen.
Go Hawks!
Grandad
November 5th, 2010
6:19 pm
jfreak13713
You never know?
Pau Gasol came along to the Lakers after the season started.
AG
November 5th, 2010
6:21 pm
what about Marvin for Greg Odom?
Ohmagawdyes Ohmagawd
November 5th, 2010
6:27 pm
LOL “Chard” doesn’t even deserve a proper spelling. He had his story on a hotplate for at least a month, sitting right beside his “OMG, the Hawks didn’t extend Horford? Now everybody wants out!” story. One of those two tales would be unleashed depending on what they did with Al.
b jones
November 5th, 2010
6:29 pm
We in the ATL know what’s up. Smoove aint goin anywhere anytime soon. Other cities have disarray and pick at the Hawks because they were an easy target for so long. But this group is poised for greatness, if they’d (marvin) would only believe it every night. Confidence and aggression will take them far.
cp
November 5th, 2010
6:31 pm
Chad Ford has clowned the Hawks for years. Dude just does not like the Hawks so i don’t take anything he writes about the team serious at all.
Freshfromatl AKA Fresh
November 5th, 2010
6:31 pm
^^^^^^
what he said
drmaryb
November 5th, 2010
6:42 pm
move along ….. there is nothing to see here.
AG
November 5th, 2010
7:05 pm
Anyone going to comment on Gred Odom for Marvin Williams?
Hawks Aren't Shopping Smith | Hardwood Digest
November 5th, 2010
7:06 pm
[...] via: Atlanta Journal [...]
O'Brien
November 5th, 2010
7:10 pm
Im open to bringing in Bobby Simmons and Damien Wilkins in for a tryout. What harm will it do?
Josh may not be a great man on man defender, but he is a great help/weakside defender. Who protects the rim when Bibby’s man gets by him? Or when the other team Thinks they have a break away?
Josh. That’s who.
niremetal
November 5th, 2010
7:16 pm
AG,
I think I can speak for Rich Cho when I say NO.
O'Brien
November 5th, 2010
7:17 pm
AG,
Lots of problems with your oden for Marvin trade. For one, the salaries don’t match. 2) Portland has martell Webster, so they wont want Marvin at $7.5 mil.
And if we trade Marvin, hawks would want a SF in return. A better suggestion might be zaza for oden, but oden is too injured.
ant banks
November 5th, 2010
7:45 pm
ASG will not trade jamal crawford before the trade deadline.
truthspitter
November 5th, 2010
7:47 pm
O’Brien
November 5th, 2010
7:17 pm
AG,
Lots of problems with your oden for Marvin trade. For one, the salaries don’t match. 2) Portland has martell Webster, so they wont want Marvin at $7.5 mil.
And if we trade Marvin, hawks would want a SF in return. A better suggestion might be zaza for oden, but oden is too injured.
Once again shows how most of you guys have a lack of basketball knowledge. Webster was traded this summer.
lewis
November 5th, 2010
7:49 pm
* The Timberwolves’ Michael Beasley is expected to start tonight. He missed the game on Wednesday in Orlando after suffering a left hip contusion Tuesday in Miami.
* The Hawks’ Jamal Crawford will also play tonight. He played limited minutes in Detroit on Wednesday night and was sidelined the previous three games due to a turf toe injury.
* In pregame meetings, Hawks coach Larry Drew stressed the importance of defensive rebounding. Atlanta gave up 17 offensive rebounds on Wednesday night against Detroit while Minnesota ranks first in the league in offensive rebounds with 15.2 a game.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
November 5th, 2010
7:50 pm
Great news that MR. EVERYTHING is not on the market…My wife is at New Orleans Arena about to watch The Hornets-Heat game with her aunt while I am watching the Nets hang with the Magic on league pass. Why can’t we do what they do to the Magic? SMH – hopefully monday but cannot look ahead Minnesota is next.
I so hope the Hornets can dispatch the Heat – cool off some the media jock riding.
ant banks
November 5th, 2010
7:51 pm
IS THERE SOMETHIN’ WEIRD ABOUT ISAIAH THOMAS AND NEW YORK KNICKS?
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/columns/story?columnist=oconnor_ian&id=5766026
truthspitter
November 5th, 2010
7:58 pm
1st loss coming up
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
November 5th, 2010
8:00 pm
Yes ANT BANKS – very bizarre relationship between the Knicks and Thomas
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
November 5th, 2010
8:01 pm
truthspitter – you said that last game, you are becoming a regular Mark Bradley with the predictions, brovah! lol
ant banks
November 5th, 2010
8:04 pm
nj nets are up on the magic, in their house. WTF!! i hope the hawks coaches watch the tape of this game.
Josh Smith Not on th Block « RUN JUMP PASS
November 6th, 2010
1:41 am
[...] Continue reading → [...]
Benjamin
November 6th, 2010
3:59 am
Why are people knocking Jamal Crawford in all this?
His “contract toe” played pretty well tonight; the dude’s done nothing but play since he came here, and people are acting as if he’s a locker room cancer [apologies to Kevin Garnett]. Jamal has been our instant offense guy from the moment we landed him; it’ll be a tough loss if he’s one of the guys to eventually be out the door.
ロスター情報 « GNYG NBA News
November 6th, 2010
11:08 am
[...] ESPN.com, NBA.com, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, [...]
lgwest
November 6th, 2010
11:13 am
The NBA gods has been good to the Hawks w/all the road games and lesser talented teams has equal to a great start. Go Hawks!!!
A slap at LaBron… I was able to score all 20,000 points with one team…Paul Pierce
Gilley
November 6th, 2010
11:20 am
PAY JAMAL CRAWFORD!!!! MY GOSH!!!
Another GM
November 6th, 2010
12:48 pm
It would be a huge mistake to trade Jamal Crawford. The Hawks dont win last night with Jamal Crawford. He is the best player off the bench in the league.
They need to bring in a good veteran point, Teague and Bibby are not getting it done. Bibby is a great spot up shooter. Heck Jason Williams would be better than Teague at this poit.
Smith not being shopped
November 6th, 2010
1:30 pm
[...] via Atlanta Journal-Constitution [...]
Milt
November 6th, 2010
2:30 pm
Good article. I do have a concern though. Althogh I believe if you are able to be paid the money, you deserve it, but JJ was overpaid! Also Al Hoford was givin a max contract (which is fair). You factor this in with low attendance, I think someone will be moved! I’m sure Marvin Williams would be the choice, but Josh will be more desired by other teams. Also another red flag is the choice of larry drew. I am very impressed so far by him, but it seems the reason he was hired was because of cheap they were able to get him. To be honest, as exciting the hawks are, they will not contend for a championship because of their lack of size. Horford is a pf not a center. This is the real reason they lost in the 2nd rd the last 2yrs along wit “iso jo”. I think the hawks should look into melo and jr smith for josh and jamal or marvin. Otherwise I leave Josh smith alone. Also jamal crawford was a big reason why the hawks won 53 games last yr. They need to figure out something with him.
West Coast Hawks Fan
November 6th, 2010
4:44 pm
I want to start off talking about the other Josh before I get into Smoove. I really like the addition of Josh Powell. He hustles and he has offensive skills. I remember watching him at NC State and thinking to myself this guy is not flashy but he gets the job done. I remember people said the same thing about Al Horford and we all see how well he has worked out. I just wanted to give Mr. Powell some early season props. It’s early but I really like Coach Drew’s motion offense. We have balanced scoring and it looks like players have bought into the new offense. Josh Smith is playing really good basketball. He is a monster defensively and playing very effeciently on offense. It looks like he spent some time in the gym working on his jumper as well. I prefer he stays down on the block but it’s good to have a consistent jumper in your arsenal especially if that’s what the defense gives you. I’m also glad we kept Mike Bibby around. He seems to be rejuvenated and his jumper is deadly again. I really like what I see so far from the team and hopefully this is how they play all season we shall see. So far so good! Go Hawks!
ryan
November 8th, 2010
5:11 pm
ESPN rumor mill Hawks interested in Piston’s Prince .
hUGOR
November 8th, 2010
7:00 pm
Will someone explain to me why in the hell do people pay their hard earned money to see a team not play for a championship? I would hope that the hawks have assembled or on the verge of assembling a championship club. If they let Jamal go, for salary purposes, then they should just fold. How do the Lakers keep their core people together? I would suggest whoever is handling the juggling of salaries, extensions etc to look at other clubs and follow. DO NOT let our core players leave or you are asking for empty seats.
All World
November 8th, 2010
7:06 pm
I agree with Gilley. A paid and happy Jamal will be better for the Hawks.
D21
November 9th, 2010
7:49 am
@Milt :”Also jamal crawford was a big reason why the hawks won 53 games last yr. They need to figure out something with him.”
And ?…
On the same view, then Murray was a big part we got 47W the previous year, while we got lots of injuries, but no major one with Crawford.
It’s hard to pay 8M more for the same spot just to get 6 more W without injuries (so even less than 6 if there were the same injuries).
And we got swept in second round with both Murray and Crawford.
Just open your eyes. Crawford is more exciting, and he certainly sells more tickets, but we don’t need to pay that much for this role.