Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith still wants to be traded
Miami–Even as Josh Smith is having a strong season for the Hawks he has let the team know he wants to be traded as the March 15 deadline approaches, according to people with knowledge of Smith’s thinking.
And the reasons for Smith’s dissatisfaction with the team now have to make the Hawks wonder if they will be able to sign him to a contract extension next season.
By the end of last season Smith wanted out of Atlanta because he believed he was singled out for unfair criticism by coaches and media. Those concerns have died down for the most part this season but now Smith believes he needs a fresh start with a franchise where he can better reach his potential on and off the court, according to one of the people with knowledge of Smith’s thinking.
The person said one of Smith’s complaints is that he believes the Hawks didn’t do enough to promote him for selection to the All-Star team, which he thinks contributed to lesser players being voted to the team by Eastern Conference coaches. Smith, an Atlanta native who has played his entire eight-year career with the Hawks, also would like to play for a franchise he believes is more committed to winning a championship.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Hawks have taken calls from teams interested in acquiring Smith—Golden State is among the teams who have inquired. But the Hawks so far have given no indication that they intend to part with Smith, who likely would command a high price in a trade.
Smith, 26, is under contract through next season, after which he can become an unrestricted free agent. If the Hawks don’t trade Smith and can’t alleviate his concerns by then, they face the real possibility of him signing with another team in the summer of 2013 because there figures to be a strong market for him.
I asked Smith about all of this last night before the Hawks played the Heat but he declined to comment. This is the third season in a row he’s been at the center of trade rumors.
“I really don’t pay any attention to it,” he said. “I just go out there and play the way I play and not worry about anything else. I know this is a business. Whatever happens, happens in the long run. But I know as long as I’m with the Hawks, I have to put my best foot forward.”
This season Smith is averaging 17.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals. No other player in the league can match those numbers across all categories. It’s that all-around productivity that makes the Hawks reluctant to part with Smith.
Smith’s value as a defender at the basket becomes obvious when Hawks opponents drive to rim when Smith goes to the bench.
“People look at the offensive end but defensively he changes the game,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said recently. “He is one of the few players I think that can play a defensive game and impact the game even if his offense is not on that night.”
The main knock on Smith’s game is his shooting.
After making 39 percent of his long two-point shots last season, a mark that was right at the league average, Smith is making just 31 percent of those attempts this season while attempting nearly two more per game. However, he’s attempting more shots per game at the basket and fewer 3-pointers than last season and his free-throw rate is up slightly.
Smith’s free-throw percentage has plummeted to a career-low 57.7 percent this season after he made a career-high 72.5 percent in 2010-11. His free-throw percentage has improved over the last 20 games or so.
Smith said he’s improved his free-throw shooting by taking his time at the line and expects his jump shots to start falling more often as the season goes on.
“It’s a long season but it came to you real quick,” he said. “They are throwing games at us left and right. If you look around the league most people’s percentages are down more so than usual.”
Smith’s emotional demeanor on the court has drawn fire from critics and has caused friction with teammates at times. But Jerry Stackhouse , an Atlanta resident who had developed a relationship with Smith before joining the Hawks this season, said Smith has grown in that area and Smith’s ability makes it difficult for the Hawks to trade him.
“His talent, that’s what you can’t give up on with Josh,” Stackhouse said. “It’s easy to say, ‘All right, let’s just move him.’ And then he goes and clicks at the next stop and you’ve got to look at that every night and you had it in house. That’s kind of the dilemma with Josh. You know you are going to get some uneasy moments from time to time but, for the most part, he’s really about winning. He wants to win. He’s competitive. I relate to that.
“How he handles his emotions and frustrations, sometimes he rubs people the wrong way and bruises them. But I think he’s happy-go-lucky. He thinks, ‘It was just heat of the moment’ and we can move on from it but he can bruise people. I think he’s learning that. He is learning to control his emotions a little better and it’s good for our team. The better Josh Smith is, the better the Atlanta Hawks are.”
Smith said his emotion fuels his performance but he’s made an effort to tone it down in the past couple seasons. He said he’s especially done so this year as injuries to Al Horford and Joe Johnson have increased the team’s reliance on him.
“I’m definitely an emotional player but I’m kind of bottling it up, understanding the importance of what my team needs and just trying to stay positive and have constructive criticism when possible,” he said. “Now I’m at the point of my career where I can voice my opinion a little bit more and it will be recognized more than back in the day [when] it got drowned out more so than anything else.
“[Teammates] know that I have good intentions, no matter how it’s delivered. I am saying stuff because I want to win games. It’s not nothing personal or to try to hurt or bash any one of my teammates or anyone else.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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754 comments Add your comment
terrell
March 9th, 2012
7:22 am
This team is feeding off of Josh’ “energy” right now. Btw, I havent heard that word since Robin’s(JJ)been out. Hmmm????
Wabe
March 9th, 2012
7:32 am
Man, if Josh goes to Philly, Thaddeus Young better be coming back this way…
He ain’t a big, but, SF is another position that’s plagued us for a long time, and he’d definitely fill that void for us.
I’ll pass on Elton Brand. I’d rather go after a package deal for Asik in Chicago than go after Elton Brand.
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
7:50 am
Vava,
Dwight has an opt out clause at the end of the season, and the assumption is he will opt out.
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
7:50 am
Ra’mon,
As a GT fan, I can tell you this year’s basketball team has been much worse than I thought they would. I knew they would lose a lot of games, but I had no idea their offense would be so bad.
The 36 in the ACC tournament yesterday was terrible, but check out some of their other point totals for the season; 48 pts at Alabama, 50 pts at Maryland, 38 pts against Virgiania, 49 pts against Miami, 37 pts against Clemson.
Turrible
Buddy Grizzard
March 9th, 2012
7:54 am
Here’s my response to MC’s latest post:
http://www.hoopinionblog.com/2012/03/comparing-twilight-of-two-hawks-eras-by.html
Road Scholar
March 9th, 2012
7:56 am
They should package him with Joe Johnson.
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
8:01 am
From cbs sports;
But a more serious contender could emerge in the coming days: the Hawks, who are dealing with disgruntled should-be All-Star Josh Smith’s own reported trade request. Smith and Al Horford would represent a coup for the Magic considering the alternative of losing Howard for nothing, and Atlanta is Howard’s hometown, where he attended Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy.
Even with the potential of getting – and keeping – a player of Howard’s popularity and impact, questions remain about whether the Atlanta ownership group would be able to afford two max players going forward. Joe Johnson is owed $90 million over the next four years.
If nothing else, Howard’s familiarity with Atlanta would diminish the biggest impediment for another potential rental team giving up major assets to get him: Aside from it being an untenable gamble in a normal season, it’s even more so in this one. If, for example, Howard were traded against his will to Golden State, he’d play only 26 games with his new team – and only 12 home games in his new surroundings.
“That’s not a lot of games to get attached to Golden State,” one rival executive said.
Could the Warriors possibly give up Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Ekpe Udoh, etc., under those circumstances? The Magic hope so, which is why the Howard saga quietly escalated to the next phase Thursday: Orlando’s attempt to follow the Denver model by creating a bidding war and scoring a Melo-like haul of assets. .
If you’re the Hawks, are you willing to trade any 2 players for Dwight at the deadline, knowing that more than likely he is opting out? That’s a tough call. If he would stay for next season, then its a no-brainer, but otherwise…I’m not sure I would trade Al and Josh for 26 games of D12.
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
8:03 am
Here is the link;
http://magic-want-melo-like haul/
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
8:04 am
http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/35154861?source=rss_blogs_NBA/
atlchick
March 9th, 2012
8:04 am
im felling Josh pain. i figured when his dad thought he was mature enough they wanted out. the injury to Joe and Al has proved Josh talent and value. I think Marvin could get better as the season goes on playing more minutes. his defense has improved. the BIG 3 plays well together(JOSH,ZAZA, and MARVIN). Marvin does makes me mad but regardless of what type of groove he could be in , he alwys come out of the game at the 8min mark. this is not college u cant have a set rotation when a guy has double figure in 1st quarter. keep the big 3 and maybe Al everything else is up for sale then Josh will get his ALLSTAR recognition.
High-sider
March 9th, 2012
8:05 am
[Particularly] To: Najeh Davenpoop, Rod from College Park, northcyde, vava74, Grandmaster JeJe, O’Brien, Buddy Grizzard, Grandad, prison mike, doc, Rev from Tampa, Big Ray and SteveW
Since, according to this article, Josh Smith wants to be traded away from the Hawks and Dwight Howard has expressed in the media that he wants out of Orlando, I attempted to execute [process] a four-team trade scenario [on NBA Trade Machine - ESPN] that involved sending Josh Smith and Dwight Howard to New Jersey to play with Deron Williams resulting in a “Nets Big Three.” When I attempted to execute this particular four-team trade [scenario], the trade machine would not process the trade; I didn’t even get a “Successful” or “Failed” message. The four teams involved in this four-team trade scenario are/were the Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets and Houston Rockets. Could someone put together a successful trade scenario that would send Josh Smith and Dwight Howard to New Jersey to play with Deron Williams and post that successful trade as a link to the AJC “Hawks Blog”? It would be greatly appreciated. One of the four-team trade scenarios I attempted to execute [process] is/was as follows:
1. Hawks get Kris Humphries [8M], Hasheem Thabeet [5.1M], Anthony Morrow [4M], Terrence Williams [2.4M] and Jordan Williams [473.6K].
2. Magic get Mehmet Okur [10.9M], Brook Lopez [3.1M], Shawne Williams [3M] and DeShawn Stevenson [2.5M].
3. Nets get Dwight Howard [18.1M], Josh Smith [12.4M] and Earl Clark [1.2M].
4. Rockets get Marvin Williams [7.5M].
I don’t even know if this trade makes sense since it involves [players with] trade exceptions. For your information, I was able to successfully process a four-team trade [using the same aforementioned teams] that involved sending Hedo Turkoglu and Anthony Morrow to the Hawks [and Johan Petro to the Rockets] but I didn’t save and/or post the successful trade as a link to the AJC “Hawks Blog.” I put together this trade scenario with the thought in mind that Josh Smith and Dwight Howard want to play together [on a team] with an elite point guard.
Once again, your assistance in this matter is and will be greatly appreciated!
tyger
March 9th, 2012
8:06 am
Sad, but true…
both Dallas and NJ can acquire D. Howard…
Jason Terry/Jason Kidd expiring $20M
Mehmet Okur/Kris Humphries expiring $18M
All Howard has to do is choose…
Can Hawks get in on action, sure…
Johnson/Marvin to Orl –
Turkoglu/Okur/Humphries to Atl
D.Howard/Jsmoove to NJ
Lopez/Brooks to Orl
Morrow/Petro to Atl
Hawks ship out $37M in contracts, keep Hinrich for later…
Orlando rebuilds around Lopez/Brooks/#3 pick/JJ/Marvin…
New Jersey gets Superman/Dickhead…
Atlanta gets Turkgolu/Okur/Humphries/Morrow= $18M expiring…
Atlanta rebuilds w/ Horford/ZaZa/Turkoglu/Perry Jones/Morrow/Sessions…
LoL
March 9th, 2012
8:06 am
How about trading Joel Anthony, Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem for Josh Smith and Kirk Hinrich. So this season they play with CB4 on the C position, J-Smoove as a PF, Lebron SF, Wade SG and Hinrich PG… and at the start of the next season release all players except CB, JS, LJ and DW and get Dwight Howard… So the team would look like this C- D12, PF- CB4, SF- J-Smoove, SG- Lebron and PG- Wade… and they don’t need bench players, maybe one (Brian Scalabrini) if somebody gets injured!!!!111… it’s a win-win situation (This is the kind of comment I always expect from a Heat fan)
Peachtree John
March 9th, 2012
8:11 am
Josh’s play with Al and Joe out justifies packaging Al and Joe in order to get a 1st class center/big man. Josh shows that he can carry the load. It’s too bad that Atl. is so snowed by Al and Joe. We will never win anything as long as those two are so revered. These statements have nothing to do with them as individuals—just Atlanta Hawks.
The Point Forward » Posts March 9: Latest NBA trade buzz «
March 9th, 2012
8:18 am
[...] Michael Cunningham, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: As the trade deadline approaches, the Hawks have taken calls from teams interested in acquiring [...]
NBA Rumors: Atlanta Hawks Must Trade Overrated Josh Smith | :: Sparxxrx LLC ::
March 9th, 2012
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[...] Via the Atlanta Journal Constitution: [...]
Robert
March 9th, 2012
8:35 am
Josh Smith deserves more credit than he gets. If I were him, I would be upset too. The Hawks really are going in the wrong direction. Teague is our point, Hinrich needs to go! We need a true big man in the middle. Joe is sketchy! Signing him to that large of a contract was really stupid. Wheres Mookie, Kevin, Dominique, and Stacey?
vava74
March 9th, 2012
8:35 am
High-sider,
What do you intend to accomplish with that trade?
All you get is rubbish and cap space from expiring contracts.
I grant you that ditching Marvin is always good but you are not getting anything valuable in return so I am sure that there are far less complex and better deals which can be made.
tyger,
Dickhead is ballin’ like Horford will NEVER do and, for me, proving that he is not a Dickhead at all.
Rebuilding around Horford is mediocrity guaranteed.
I like Horford – to some extent – but he is not worth more than 10 million per AND will never lead anyone anywhere.
That is the harsh reality.
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
8:38 am
Plenty of Hawks trade talk. More from cbssports;
The Hawks won’t find a taker for Joe Johnson and the $90 million he has coming to him over the next four years, but rival executives believe Kirk Hinrich could be on the move — perhaps filling the gaping two-guard hole on the Clippers. That depends on the asking price, as the Clips’ assets were diminished in the Chris Paul trade.
Execs are torn on what strategy Atlanta ownership will pursue after the sale of the team fell through in November. With a healthy Al Horford, the Hawks almost certainly would be the third-best team in the East. But at some point down the road, a league source said, ownership may “keep Horford and try to dump the rest.” .
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/17664419/postups-freeagent-frenzy-or-lack-thereof-all-hangs-on-howard/
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
8:40 am
More rumors? From NYpost;
At the same time, do not believe word one of what you might have heard or read regarding Josh Smith possibly being dealt to the Celtics for Kevin Garnett or anyone, for that matter. Same goes for Joe Johnson, reputedly on the lips of the Warriors in trade talk.
Just so you know, Joe, it ain’t so. Legit playoff teams wait until after the season to radically revamp. Often-debilitated Kirk Hinrich, on the other hand, is on the end of his contract and thus might be moved. … But only if the return will help the Hawks this season..
Dawg
March 9th, 2012
8:46 am
The team has fed off of Josh’s energy the past few games. Has anyone ever “fed off of JJ’s energy”? What about Hortford’s energy?
STRETCH
March 9th, 2012
8:54 am
I would be ready to grant him his wishes. He wants to play with Dwight anyway. Send him and Marving to Orlando for Turk, Anderson and draft pick!
vava74
March 9th, 2012
8:55 am
Buddy:
Your proposed statement by the Hawks should be stopped short:
““The Atlanta Hawks organization would like to announce that we have no intention whatsoever of trading Josh Smith. Josh is the heart and soul of the Atlanta Hawks. He is our anchor on offense and defense and the organization would rather face the prospect of losing him to free agency than allow him to leave the organization one second before his contract expires. The Hawks will not be offering Josh for trade.”
You must ditch:
“…, but our general manager has been authorized to entertain calls regarding Josh, provided that the caller is offering an All-Star and additional considerations in return.”
Even if you entertain calls, you never announce that officially because that is basically “shopping” Josh.
IMO:
1. Trading Josh is plain stupid and should be considered a “LAST RESORT MOVE”.
2. Only possible successful strategy is to try to appease Josh and make an effort to build a championship caliber team around him (even if he is not good enough, he is the best we can have):
a) Officially promote Josh to #1 in the Hawks pecking order.
b) Talk with JJ for him to fully embrace this new strategy or be traded.
c) Trade Horford because his perceived value is higher (substantially) to his actual value/production.
STRETCH
March 9th, 2012
8:57 am
How bout Josh, Marvin and Kirk for Gasol and Blake? Or Josh, Marvin and Green for lets say…Monta and Biedrens? Wow i love make believe trades. Good therapy!
KevinA
March 9th, 2012
8:58 am
Joe Johnson never did fit with in with the young bigs. Add to that the laughable stint with Bibby and the Hawks blew the opportunity to run the ball and exploit the talent of the frontcourt. JJ dribbling the ball for another 4 years will be tough without Josh around for a few highlights. Sigh, what a waste, what a shame.
pauls
March 9th, 2012
9:01 am
good luck Josh Smith get a beter team and win championchip
timthebrave
March 9th, 2012
9:02 am
I would expect no better from the Spirit group. They ran the Thrashers out of town. Then they doom the Hawks by overpaying for Joe Johnson and let the good young talent run away. That’s why I will never go to a Hawks game again until they are sold. I wont even go to concerts at Phillips arena
vava74
March 9th, 2012
9:03 am
ALSO:
I think that, although Josh MAY BE effectively thinking that leaving is a good option, I am also under the impression that he is also trying to scare the ASG into finally making a bold move and promoting him to #1 man in the team.
If you look at it, it sounds perfectly logic:
1. He is proving himself and the doubters that he can lead the Hawks – virtually unassisted (let’s face it, without JJ and Horford, Smoove is winning games with only role players around him).
2. So both options look logic for him:
a) Either he gets the trade out of this swampy franchise; or
b) He gets the recognition and the status which will allow him to be the king of ATL, forcing the ASG to make a move to make it happen.
I am very much inclined to think that his thinking is two fold.
Honestly, it’s a perfectly FAIR stance by Josh.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 9th, 2012
9:06 am
Great article Briggs, a fantastic read. I typed my comments, but the error message kept saying I didn’t type the coded words correctly.
I stabbed at it about four times to no avail. How annoying is that feature, I can barley make out those words on this BBerry small screen. I hate touch screens though and refuse to upgrade this crappy phone. Ugggh. … Sorry.
That happens every time I try to post @ Hoopinion.
_______________
This storied franchise doesn’t really have a great story to tell, does it?
Spud Webb
March 9th, 2012
9:14 am
The hawks are a much more entertaining team and competitive team with Josh as leader. It is refreshing to see them play so well with out JJ in the line up. I say unload JJ no matter the cost.
ctrim
March 9th, 2012
9:19 am
This is Josh’s attempt act like a superstar and be like his good buddy Dwight to control where he plays.
» What’s going on in the basketball world Basketball 101
March 9th, 2012
9:26 am
[...] Even as Josh Smith is having a strong season for the Hawks he has let the team know he wants to be t… according to people with knowledge of Smith’s thinking. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Atlanta Hawks, , Josh Smith [...]
Buddy Grizzard
March 9th, 2012
9:34 am
For those of you for whom my Hoopinion post is a bit too long winded, here’s the key paragraph:
“Larry Drew has failed as an NBA coach because of the favoritism he has shown certain players, his inability to spot, utilize or develop the talent on his own bench, and because he has provided Josh Smith with a pretext for wanting out by throwing his players under the bus and not taking his share of responsibility for the team’s shortcomings. Nobody will EVER take the Hawks seriously as an organization with the will to contend for championships as long as the franchise employs a coach no other team would hire.”
http://www.hoopinionblog.com/2012/03/comparing-twilight-of-two-hawks-eras-by.html
ATLien
March 9th, 2012
9:36 am
Has anyone else noticed how much more the team plays together without Joe Johnson? They’re putting up just as many points, the offense doesn’t seem to stall at times while Joe dribbles around, and he’s no more consistent than Josh was early in the season. Why isn’t ATL even considered in trade talks for D. Howard? He’s an ATL native, who I’m sure would love to play with Smoove (his boy)! Trade Johnson, another player(s) & draft pick(s) for Howard. It’s not like our picks are ever good, because this team is just good enough (in a weak Eastern Conference) to make the playoffs, resulting in late picks that never make an impact! For 5 years, if not more, ATL has NEVER attempted to bring in a true center, which I feel is the missing piece for us to have a championship team! Trade for Howard. Move Horford to PF. Smith stays at SF. Teague @ PG. Fill in SG with role players (McGrady, Stackhouse, Heinrich) until next free agency and then sign a SG.
However the best off-season acquisition would be a new owner(ship)!!!!!!!
TujDaddy
March 9th, 2012
9:37 am
AHHHHH! What EXACTLY did Atlanta fans do to warrant this!?! And don’t you DARE tell me this is a business, Josh! I’ve been a die hard Hawks fan since Dominique was a rookie, but the lockout and now this debacle are trying my patience with the NBA all together. I’m so tired of other markets stockpiling talented players while Atlanta and other mid-market teams struggle to keep their players. That’s what the lockout was about – players holding teams hostage! This phenomenon is completely undermining the whole concept of fanhood of a team. Disgusting!!!
Atlanta Hawks Trade Rumors: Hawks Must Trade Disgruntled Josh Smith | DSPN News
March 9th, 2012
9:39 am
[...] According to blogs.ajc.com: [...]
NBA Rumors: Atlanta Hawks Must Trade Overrated Josh Smith | DSPN News
March 9th, 2012
9:40 am
[...] Via the Atlanta Journal Constitution: [...]
chanceman4
March 9th, 2012
9:41 am
Maybe we can package a trade to get Dominique back!!!!!
AtlSouthside
March 9th, 2012
9:42 am
Josh is about to find out that not many teams are gonna trade for him & hand him the keys to the franchise. Whereever he goes, he will be a #2 or #3 option. He’s mad b/c he didnt get “promoted for the All-Star game” – thats insane…
AtlSouthside
March 9th, 2012
9:43 am
Josh Smith = Randy Moss to me.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
9:43 am
” When I attempted to execute this particular four-team trade [scenario], the trade machine would not process the trade; I didn’t even get a “Successful” or “Failed” message.”
I have noticed that the trade machine gets stuck when you try 4 team trades. I think this is a problem with the trade machine, not with your trade.
HHBO38
March 9th, 2012
9:48 am
If anyone’s noticed, Josh has an old-school 80’s Hawks logo tattooed on the inside of his left bicep! Anyone care to guess what he’d do with that if he was traded? Remove it? Cover it up? That ishh is crazy!
Second, for all those possible trades being posted: Yet another hit on Hawks management…. We drafted Pau and traded his rights to *Vancouver* for Shareef, if anyone remembers. Let’s think about how that worked out….
Also, Brandon Roy is retired… Career ending injury. DO NOT want that trade, people!
I’d rather keep him until his contract runs out… Past, current, and probably future management does NOT have a good track record with trades going all the way back to stinkin’ Dan Roundfield! Rather lose the contract along with Marvin’s and suffer through another rebuilding mode through the draft since we’re going to *definitely* be Albatrossed with Joe stinking up the place for all these years. Trade Joe on the last year of his deal for salary cap relief for *some* championship contender looking for a rent-a-boost to their roster and we should be sitting pretty after 5 or so years of lottery pics again. Hafta’ hope for a better GM by then and an influx of strong drafts with all the current middle school talent in the country now….
Hate to be pessimistic, but that’s reality with Joe Johnson on board.
High-sider
March 9th, 2012
9:48 am
Najeh Davenpoop,
Thanks for the feedback.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
9:51 am
“With Pau, we’d have to scrap a little harder on D, but be a better and more balanced team on O.”
Do you think Teague-Joe-Marvin-Pau-Zaza has any better chance of beating the Bulls or Heat in a 7 game series than the current team does? Because I don’t.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
9:52 am
“Who is josh`s mentor ?
It may very well turn out to be Stackhouse.”
Some Heat beat writer tweeted during the game on Wednesday, while Stackhouse was guarding Wade, that Stackhouse had taught Wade some of his post moves last season. Maybe there is something to the idea of Stackhouse being a positive locker room presence even before he started getting minutes, who knows.
SteveW
March 9th, 2012
9:53 am
Well if Boston really wants to blow it up, and Ainge wants Josh to be one of the cornerstones to build around, maybe they do something like:
Pierce
Rondo
Bass
For
Josh
Marvin
Kirk
And if that’s not enough, maybe throw in Teague.
The trade works on trade machine with/without Teague. We get like a +8 w/o including Teague in the trade, and a +4 including. Boston gets a -9 w/o Teague and a -5 with Teague (If my memory serves me correctly, somewhere around there however).
Could we make a run next season, or even this season with a team of:
Rondo
JJ
Pierce
Bass/Al
ZaZa
Starting 4 All Stars and ZaZa, and get Sund to piece together another good bench like this season, maybe we could go for it the next 2-3 years with that squad.
And Boston may go for it if they want Josh bad enough. Especially if Teague is thrown in.
Omar
March 9th, 2012
9:56 am
“Interested in acquiring Smith—Golden State is among the teams who have inquired”
If this is true why not offer Josh Smith and Jeff Teague for David Lee and Stephen Curry. I think it would de good for both teams!
Go Hawks!!!
vava74
March 9th, 2012
9:57 am
SteveW,
Rondo is a top 5 PG in the league.
The Celtics will never trade him for what is perceived as marginal talent. Josh is yet to make his mark and gain the cornerstone status which would be necessary to pry away Rondo.
Also, a much more likely trade would involve Allen and Garnett rather than Pierce.
doc
March 9th, 2012
10:00 am
good food for thought buddy. i did take the time to read it and cant take offense to much you wrote.
josh is easy pickings for folks to complain about just by his anima on the court which he scaled back a bit this year where it has been where it should be focused on performance. i have often said he is a lightening rod. this response shows it. his performance this year has been exemplary as he has heightened his game with each new injury to others and has begun to show what he is capable of if folks get out of his way, especially the coaches. i think given certain leadership rather than fear from his coaches they couldnt handle him and his ego rather than play to it as control freaks they are he has blossomed out of need, not coaching. isnt that what we saw with teague as his skills were squandered on the bench too long.
josh has long been capable of doing this night in and night out what he has done recently but it has not been required or asked on him. instead coaches have tended to push him down when possible. as far as an all star, he has been by the votes of fans. he has been the one as his vote tallies have rivaled a combination of both al and jj.
can anyone say horford has had a run like josh or has the capability of doing this night in and night out? he just isnt the big fundamental, though for one night against chicago he did. sorry, he just doesnt have the length or athleticism to do this from either the center or pf position. he is a good little player and one you want on your side but he is not a game changer like josh. jj isnt a game changer for the most part because he doesnt seem to want that role as he shies away from big nights or big moments. josh of all his teammates has delivered best on the big stage in big games when allowed to.
we will miss him but josh will have to go unless jj is somehow released to another team for a few pieces can remain, as well as some cap space to give him the contract he deserves. there is no way out is my thought under present circumstances. we should have recognized jj’s contract precluded josh staying much longer than present contract. after all, he is the only hawk to have had to barter as was chills, not jj nor al nor marvin. that probably sent a strong message to him as well. yes there have ben few moments where the basg has embraced josh and delivered a profound josh “you r us”. the basg, like jj and al, always seem to avoid the big moments as well.
Omar
March 9th, 2012
10:03 am
“Interested in acquiring Smith—Golden State is among the teams who have inquired”
If this is true why not offer Josh Smith and Jeff Teague for David Lee and Stephen Curry. I think it would de good for both teams!
This would be my starting 5…will be a bigger line up!
PG Stephen Curry
SG Joe Johnson
SF David Lee
PF Al Horford (when healthy)
C Zaza Pachulia
David Lee has a better jump shot than Josh and still is a great defender !!