Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith says he’s not eager for trade
Josh Smith is aware of the trade speculation swirling around him. He knows much of that speculation is fueled by the belief that he desperately wants out of Atlanta.
But Smith said today he’s not eager to be traded, though he’s bracing for the possibility.
“I’m not saying I want [a trade] to happen but if it does I will just have to deal with it,” he said.
Smith said the Hawks haven’t told him anything about a trade. But he noted that players aren’t usually privy to the team’s internal deliberations until a deal is going down.
“Right now I’m with the Hawks,” he said. “I think we have a special group. I just want to win.”
There’s no doubt Smith is frustrated about the flak he took from fans, media and Larry Drew over his shot selection. But it still doesn’t seem as if he’s pushing the Hawks to get him out of town.
Meanwhile, the latest rumors have the Magic acquiring Andre Miller and his non-guaranteed 2011-12 deal from Portland and then using that as part of a bigger deal. And since Dwight Howard apparently wants to play with Smith, that naturally leads to speculation that the Magic would use Miller as part of a package to acquire Smith.
UPDATE: Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports the Miller-to-Orlando speculation is “overblown.”
UPDATE II: Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Hawks are trying to trade Smith to Minnesota for the No. 2 pick so they can select Turkish center Enes Kanter.
Kanter was ruled ineligible to play for Kentucky last season after the NCAA determined he played professionally in Europe. According to NBADraft.net, Kanter has a history of knee problems.
Hawks assistant GM Dave Pendergraft was asked last week about Kanter’s lack of competition for a year and lack of high-level competition at all.
“He played so well at the Hoop Summit against the best young players,” Pendergraft. “And then [scouts] saw him practice at Kentucky later in the year. With that body and that kind of physical maturity, when you weigh that in and rank your players, the teams in that mix are comfortable with the decision that they are going to make.”
NBA co-director of scouting Ryan Blake on Kanter:
“He missed a year of game experience, development in game situations. He’s a very unique player. He could have made a lot of money playing pro [overseas], but he wanted to come over here, learn the language and improve his skills. He felt that was the best way to develop. He is gifted fundamentally with all the skills he possesses. Another thing is you can look at a a guy’s work ethic and heart and desire. Here is a guy that doesn’t back down. He wants to play against anybody and wants to prove what he can do. He is highly skilled.”
Trading Smith as a salary dump makes little sense (and is complicated by the $4 million trade kicker his new team would have to pay). Smith is still only 25. He’s productive, versatile, and valuable. The two years and $26 million left on his contract runs neck-and-neck with Al Horford’s new deal as the best bargain on the team.
If the Hawks somehow managed to unload Marvin Williams’ contract in the process of trading Smith, then the salary dump angle would make more sense. It still wouldn’t be palatable from a basketball standpoint unless they could also replace Smith’s production in the deal but clearly Williams has the kind of deal they would gladly send away.
If the Hawks also were to work a trade that included Smith and brought them back a superior player (or at least a comparable player at center or small forward) for even a one-season run then it would make some sense from a basketball standpoint. If the Hawks were able to get productive young players and draft picks in a deal, and then turn those assets into something down the line, then that might be a successful path, too.
Of course, looming in the background (or maybe the foreground) of all this speculation about salary shedding: The Hawks gave the richest contract in the league to a player that even their GM doesn’t believe is an MVP candidate.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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242 comments Add your comment
CONservative Johnson
June 23rd, 2011
4:18 pm
The news of a possible sale is GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!
SteveW
June 23rd, 2011
4:18 pm
I would guess ASG would pocket Josh’s salary, split between them if the team is sold and Josh is traded.
Typical ASG operating procedure. I know, it may not happen that way, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Inside Guy
June 23rd, 2011
4:19 pm
Hawks being sold? Big draft day trade? Who cares? How is Mark Richt and his trip to Africa? I need an update from this fine paper’s embedded reporters.
Matt
June 23rd, 2011
4:27 pm
I will laugh my @$$ off if we send J Smoove’s whiny butt off to Minnesota. Go buy a parka, bro!
Freshmaker
June 23rd, 2011
4:28 pm
Nobody cares about UGA football. No titles in 30 years = worthless program.
jason
June 23rd, 2011
4:29 pm
@Freshmaker
Wrong blog dude.
darrell starks
June 23rd, 2011
4:29 pm
http://youtu.be/mYBZXM5toHE
Section 303
June 23rd, 2011
4:29 pm
Please, please, please make the Minny deal happen! I will be dancing in the streets. Trade Josh to Minny for the #2 pick! Would be awesome! I’ve been calling for that since the season ended.
EmirS.
June 23rd, 2011
4:29 pm
WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
Milwaukee has a three-way deal with Charlotte and Sacramento, sources say
WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
Partial of deal: The Bucks get Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston, sources say. Charlotte gets the 7th pick and Corey Maggette.
.
Trojan
June 23rd, 2011
4:30 pm
Freshmaker: If you felt that way you would not have commented. It hurts don’t it?
Freshmaker
June 23rd, 2011
4:30 pm
Why is Kanter a legit C though? He’s only 6′11, or one inch taller than Horford. Him and Beasley though might be a good combo. How does this deal work for Minny though? They’ve got Love at the 4. Do they really want Josh at the 3?
darrell starks
June 23rd, 2011
4:30 pm
WES JOHSON REMIND ME OF RUDY GAY.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
EmirS.
June 23rd, 2011
4:30 pm
Wonder what sac-town got……
Freshmaker
June 23rd, 2011
4:30 pm
Trojan: Your comment makes no sense. This is a basketball blog and I’m trying to keep it on topic.
Gold Dawg
June 23rd, 2011
4:35 pm
We have 2 really good PF’s. Might as well flip one for positions you actually need…SF and C.
darrell starks
June 23rd, 2011
4:35 pm
JOSH FOR 2# DERRICK WILLIAM AND WES JOHNSON WOULD BE A STEAL FOR THE HAWKS.
http://youtu.be/ze3NXkUmLKA
cp
June 23rd, 2011
4:35 pm
If the trade rumor is true I honesty dont know what to make of it. Its hard to project what Kanter will be. Is he a center or a pf? I thought he measured in a little smaller than first predicted. Its a big risk and hopefully Sund doesn’t throw in a first for the draft next year. Next year the draft will be loaded.
Neki Ecko
June 23rd, 2011
4:37 pm
10 and John Salmons. So he is going back home.
jason
June 23rd, 2011
4:37 pm
The first deal made, Stephen Jackson to the bucks for there #7 pick. LOL! Will the josh trade be the 2nd??
BigTimeTechFan
June 23rd, 2011
4:38 pm
If they get no 2 pick they should pick Jimmer Fredette.
EmirS.
June 23rd, 2011
4:38 pm
Yea good for him!
Gold Dawg
June 23rd, 2011
4:38 pm
Maybe we get the #2/Beasley and then flip the #2 for a legit center already in the league.
SteveW
June 23rd, 2011
4:40 pm
The Bucks have offered Bogut and #10 for the Wolves #2 pick.
If I’m Minnesota, I take that over Josh Smith anyday.
The Lakers offered them Lamar Odom and “pieces” (whatever they are) for the #2.
Speculation is the ‘Wolves will let bidding continue until they’re on the clock tonight, and see if other offers come in or offers are enhanced.
BigTimeTechFan
June 23rd, 2011
4:41 pm
Stephen Jackson to the bucks for there #7 pick, what???
J Smith easy worth a #2 if that happened
Michael
June 23rd, 2011
4:41 pm
We are screwed next year regardless if we do not sign Jamal Crawford, imo.. But the potential sale is great news, no doubting that
Gold Dawg
June 23rd, 2011
4:41 pm
Agree, Bogut and #10 is a better deal.
ryan
June 23rd, 2011
4:43 pm
What a crazy day first the report of the Hawks possibly being sold and now OJ Simpson will confess to Oprah that he was the one who murdered his wife .
Michael The Abbreviation
June 23rd, 2011
4:43 pm
How bout a J Smoove for Odom? Then atleast we would have the opportunity to potentially see Kim K at some of our games! But then again, we would also have a whale sighting at every game (Khloe)
Robert
June 23rd, 2011
4:43 pm
What are you hearing about the strong rumors per the attached SI article that the Hawks are on the verge of being sold?? Why is SI breaking this and not the AJC?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/ian_thomsen/06/23/hawks.sale/index.html
BigTimeTechFan
June 23rd, 2011
4:44 pm
Maybe 3 way, Hawks get Bogut and Beasly, Minn gets Smith and no 10, Bucks get number 2 pick
EmirS.
June 23rd, 2011
4:47 pm
@Micheal The Abbrevation
Uncalled for.
Secondly….I think she looks hot. I’m into “something to grab onto”, if you catch my drift.
Third…you’d hit it as much as I would don’t lie.
Fourth….lets get back to BASKETBALL! Woot I love this tense atmosphere on draft day, just like on trade deadline day!
Michael The Abbreviation
June 23rd, 2011
4:48 pm
I’d definitly hit that, it was just a joke! Its not like shes reading our blogs, come on dog
Neki Ecko
June 23rd, 2011
4:50 pm
It went from quick and boring to WTF in less than a week with J.Smith talks and Hawks on verge of being sold.
Trading Horford and Sy to Houston; Motiejunas- JordanHill-Thabeet-Malcolm Thomas
June 23rd, 2011
4:52 pm
@SteveW
Statistically Michael Beasley is one of the worst basketball players in the NBA. I did not know he averaged 19 ppg but even looking at basic stats and not advanced stats
Not even considering the fact Mike is a turnstyle on defense he took 200 more shots than Josh and only hit 64 of them.
less than 6 boards a game,
Advanced 51% true shooting compared to Josh’s 54%. If you thought Josh was a bad shooter lol!
This guy uses 27% of his teams possessions for his career.
Dirk Nowitzki 27% Zach Randolph 27%
Jamal 23% Joe 23% Smith 23% Jason Terry never even reached 26%!
Beasley 28% and Kevin Love merely used 22%
read these words carefully Michael Beasley IS A BALL HOG
SteveW
June 23rd, 2011
4:53 pm
Enes Kanter is 1.5″ taller than Al, both with shoes on.
13 lbs heavier
Standing Reach is 2.5″ more for Kanter
Kanter has way less body fat: 5.9% to 9.1% for Al
Kanter is much more agile than Al – Agility score of 11.3 to Al’s 12.15
Enes is faster than Al also – 3.26 to 3.37 in the 3/4 court sprint.
Enes is much bigger than Josh, so I think the reasoning goes that would Al and Enes give you more on court size than Al and Josh?
And with Kanter only being 19, he’s got room to grow and add muscle. Kid already did 14 reps at 185 lbs at the age of 19.
Dwight Howard was shorter, skinnier (240) than Kanter when he came into the League and only benched 7x. Of course Dwight was only 18 years old and not 19.
But I think the measurables, skill, and heart are what has Sund pumped up.
EmirS.
June 23rd, 2011
4:55 pm
About 2 more hours until the draft! Can’t wait to see what happens!
Kevin
June 23rd, 2011
4:56 pm
Derrick Williams , Derrick Williams, Derrick Williams! Lets not let another great player get away if we happen to grab the number two pick.
drmaryb (*_*)
June 23rd, 2011
4:56 pm
Turkey Burger!
Enes Kanter! IDK about him, but if I ordered an angus beef burger and got a turkey burger? I would know the difference, immediately.
SlimJr would melt like the wicked witch dashed with water IF Sund drafted Enes Kanter over DWilliams at #2. It would not be pretty on the blog.
Again, IDK nothing about any of these draftees. Based on what Najeh posted, he agrees with SlimJr. It’s such a gamble at #1 & #2
just ask Portland re: Oden -vs- Durant.
The Hawks should be so lucky to have a #2 pick. Who would you take MC? | O’Brien | Rod from CP | Ken Strickland | Grand-Daddy | Sautee?
SteveW
June 23rd, 2011
4:56 pm
Trading – No doubt Josh is better than Beasley. But Beasley is better than Marvin. And if they’re giving us the #2 pick to boot, well you gotta do that trade.
Nobody said trade Beasly for Josh straight up.
Wabe
June 23rd, 2011
4:56 pm
Sure, I wouldn’t mind flipping one of our PF’s to upgrade at the 3 or 5.
But, whose sold on this Kanter kid? And why assume this kid can fill that center role any better than Horford has.
Also, trading Josh signals that this team is willing to take a few steps back in the short-term, and hopes to reap the benefits of this deal in the longterm. I say that because this kid isn’t gonna come into the league and immediately ball out. Also, there’s only been a handful of bigs that have come into the league and really made meaningful impacts after being drafted that high, do you really wanna gamble Smith away on this kid? I mean really, try to think of recent bigs that have been taken with lottery selections.
Oden, Thabeet, Bogut, Barganani, etc.
Bogut’s panning out now. The other three, not so much. Of course you got Howard, beast. This kid isn’t Dwight. And you’ve got Horford, and I could see this kid walking the same line as Horford did. But, even with that, it’ll take time. And, we’ve got Joe Johnson sitting on our books for a good minute still. You’d think after making that kinda investment last summer, this team would put peices around Joe ASAP to get us into championship form. Not try to shoot up into a lottery slot and put the fortunes of this team on an unproven rookie.
Again, this is all the result of piiii$$ poor planning by an imcompetent ownership group + our douche of a manager who have no clue how to run a team. They make one poor decision after another, and then they try to mask their stupid mistakes shortly after they realize the mistake they’ve made.
Resigning Bibby.
Resigning Zaza.
Resigning Marvin.
Offering Joe a max contract.
I’m even willing to list the departure of Jordan Crawford as a boneheaded mistake too. Jamal’s gone. We wouldn’t have to look for a guy to plug that scoring had we had this kid. But the signing of Bibby (dumb move #1) led to the Hinrich for Bibby/Crawford/Evans/1st round pick swap. And as much as I like seeing Bibby gone, and Evans for that matter, it still leaves us short resources in the present to continue to grow. So, I’ll say, that was another dumb move.
The article Najeh posted at 2:40 in his post is 100% on point. This organization is clueless.
bighawksfan33
June 23rd, 2011
4:58 pm
MC: any word on trading smoove for monta ellis?
drmaryb (*_*)
June 23rd, 2011
5:02 pm
What IF Kyrie Irving was there?
Do you take him @ #2? IDK? Why I’d he rated so high?
I heard he has never played a game for Duke? Or, only played 11 games?
Gregg Anthony said on NBA TV he battled cancer?
So many questions. I hear Marshon Brooks is the truth and another PG is a MVP type talent. Kenneth Fariehd …..
I’m glad I’m not a GM!
TheWyzyrd
June 23rd, 2011
5:04 pm
Would it make any difference in the draft if SI’s Hawks’ sale goes down?
TheWyzyrd
June 23rd, 2011
5:06 pm
Oops! I meant to say SI’s story on the Hawks’ sale. Sorry.
Fat El
June 23rd, 2011
5:06 pm
MC: Any truth to the rumor that the Hawks are about to be sold…and if so would it affect any moves the Hawks may or may not make?
CONservative Johnson
June 23rd, 2011
5:07 pm
Don’t know that I’m “pro this trade”; But someone asked the difference between Kanter and Horford. The difference is that Horford whines about playing Center, while Kanter wouldn’t . . .
shake&break
June 23rd, 2011
5:08 pm
All of this is useless. The Hawks should be on the phone working a deal to trade Big Charmin (AL) and Duckman (Marvin) to the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard. Put Arkansas Max (JJ) with Smoove and Superman and now this team can compete. Put Hinrich and Teague in the lineup and the starting five is legit. You have a bonafide superstar, a high level allstar and a potential all star and superstar alnog with a gritty defensive minded two guard that can shoot and a athletic point guard that is improving. Come on guys, let’s stop talking about any other trades.
JustAThought
June 23rd, 2011
5:10 pm
I’m VERY cautiously optomistic about the sale…………………shshshshshshshshshshshshshshshh!
EmirS.
June 23rd, 2011
5:12 pm
I believe Cleveland has commited to drafting Irving first. I just watched a video about it on ESPN.com as a matter of fact.
And yes the kid has played 11 games in college…and is suppose to be the number 1 pick. Im skeptical. But again I have never seen him play besides some youtube videos and espn highlights…thats about it. Not enough for me to get my feet wet.
Nothing on the Hawks and Minny so far. I think someone did mention that Minny might be waiting till it’s there turn to draft to see if anyone sweetens the deal.
Very tense!
It was not a bad pick
June 23rd, 2011
5:14 pm
YES!…I hope this deal gets done, we could then get the most out of both of our former top 3 picks who we have been wasting, Williams would finally get a fair chance and Al , a top 5 pf, would finally get to play PF, And we get a CENTER!…And all we have to give up is the second biggest problem outside Joe!…YES
CONservative Johnson
June 23rd, 2011
5:07 pm
Don’t know that I’m “pro this trade”; But someone asked the difference between Kanter and Horford. The difference is that Horford whines about playing Center, while Kanter wouldn’t . . .
no the diffrence is 3 BIG inches! Al is 6ft 8 , Kanter is 6ft101/2 legit !