Atlanta Hawks: Hawks said to pursue Josh Smith for Pau Gasol trade
According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, the Hawks have tired to trade forward Josh Smith for Lakers forward Pau Gasol.
Bresnahan tweeted that no deal is imminent. And a big caveat is that his report says the Hawks first expressed interest in Gasol after Los Angeles was eliminated from the playoffs by the Thunder, back when Rick Sund was still Hawks GM.
The Hawks have since hired GM Danny Ferry, who says he’s focused on building long term. Gasol turns 32 next week and is owed more than $38 million over the next two seasons.
Also, Bresnahan and ESPN’s Chad Ford reported the Lakers are open to trading Gasol for a high lottery pick and players, a price the Hawks can’t match.
The Rockets, who have been accumulating draft picks, could meet the Lakers’ price. Houston already tried to trade for Gasol as part of the infamous Chris Paul deal that was eventually nixed by NBA commissioner David Stern.
Update: Ford now says the Rockets aren’t pursuing Gasol.
Smith, who can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, first told the Hawks he wanted to be traded after last season and reiterated that desire prior to this season’s deadline. Smith wants to join a franchise he feels is more committed to winning and play in a market with better fan support.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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588 comments Add your comment
Astro Joe
June 28th, 2012
10:47 am
What’s up with these Baylor players and their knees?
It looks like Jared Sullinger isn’t the only big time NBA draft prospect to have medical issues hurt his stock. Multiple league sources say that NBA team doctors are concerned about a meniscus issue in Baylor forward Perry Jones III’s knee. ESPN.com
terrell
June 28th, 2012
10:55 am
Darrel, whats upwith the infactuato fo Gerald(barey in the league)Green. You must loe seeing a highlight or two because thats basically Green in a nutshell. Just my opinion of course. Teague ad Green as ou starting 1 & 2??
random
June 28th, 2012
10:56 am
Air Zaza are you scared of change? An once again you are name calling like a child. This is a blog filled with different views and opinions. If you can’t handle it banish yourself from it plain and simple.
GEN MANAGER
June 28th, 2012
11:00 am
I liked josh smith been following him from the days of his aau games,but i say go ahead and make the trade for pau this team need a change,josh needs a change pau still have game left in his tank and he is a good guy,if the numbers can work go ahead and make it happend.
KevinM
June 28th, 2012
11:06 am
Ha, I think we use the amnesty clause like we do TPE……now that Ferry is here, perhaps we get a different vision….time will tell.
I do recall that Peter Holt decided 2 years ago that yes, it was worth going over the luxury tax to field the best team possible.
Will Ferry learn from his 2nd spin at SA?
Kenny D
June 28th, 2012
11:09 am
Trading Josh Smith will only make the Hawks worst and the Lakers better. Bring Danny in wasn’t a good move, by no means. If he was that good, he could have gotten Lebon James help in Cleveland.
Air Zaza
June 28th, 2012
11:11 am
@random
Change is good if it’s makes sense. This is just something retards and idiots will do. This is not ideal for Josh Smith.
STRETCH THIS YO BOY
June 28th, 2012
11:14 am
Gasol is a better player right now than Josh Smith but Josh has a longer career ahead. Really after the 5th pick in this years draft there isn’t starting material type players right away available. Just don’t draft another Marvin Williams…
O'Brien
June 28th, 2012
11:14 am
Ra’mon,
Hawks played an entire season with Al and didn’t lose anything..
Bulls played a bunch of regular season games without D-Rose and didn’t lose anything.
Al’s production was effectively replaced by a back up center making half of what he makes..
I would not say “effectively”. Although I liked Zaza’s physicality, he was putting up 8 and 8. Al’s career average is 13 and 10, and Al is a much better finisher than Zaza. Also, Al is capable of playing 35 mpg, whereas Zaza is more of a 20 – 25 mpg player (imo).
That being said, I am fine with a guy like Zaza and Dalembert for example (assuming he is motivated) manning the center position for 48 minutes.
KevinM,
The 2nd choice is amnesty……you free up 8.27M immediately.
I don’t think it frees up the entire $8.3 mil. Maybe the cap experts can comment, but I think it only frees up about $5+ mil.
Ken Strickland
June 28th, 2012
11:14 am
A player that’s been selected as an AllPro, made 3 consecutive AllStar appearances as a PF and C, and won an NBA title, is soft(Gasol). But 2 players(Kaman, and Nene) who have yet to make an impact in the playoffs, win a title, sniff an AllStar gm, oor stay off IR, are somehow better. STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES..
STRETCH THIS YO BOY
June 28th, 2012
11:15 am
Josh demanded a trade so you trade him. Get the negativity gone.
STRETCH THIS YO BOY
June 28th, 2012
11:17 am
Delambert was traded last night.
STRETCH THIS YO BOY
June 28th, 2012
11:18 am
What about JJ & J.Smith to Lakers for Gasol & Bynum ?
KevinM
June 28th, 2012
11:19 am
Bobcats have five legit offers they’re currently exploring to trade the second pick overall in tonight’s NBA Draft. Twitter
Could Ferry be one of 5?
STRETCH THIS YO BOY
June 28th, 2012
11:23 am
I’d basically give JJ away at this point. He can never be a $24 million type top player. Resigning him was retarded.
Sugar Ray
June 28th, 2012
11:24 am
“Paying $12 Million for 14 and 10 isn’t necessarily a great deal. Its decent value, but we can’t say he’s been the player we all envisioned after his first two seasons in the league.”
Say what? Going by PPG is a terrible way to evaluate a lot of players. Al doesn’t have high scoring numbers because Josh and Joe always want the ball and inefficient scorers. He could easily put up at least 18-10 if there weren’t so many ballhogs on this team, and those bad decisions on offensewhich is why the Hawks get bounced early in the playoffs every year.
t_height
June 28th, 2012
11:24 am
maybe joe for pau gasol and a draft pick. The bobcats may be the only team I see that is desperate enough to take joe. Josh, teague and horford must stay. Everyone else is tradeable.
EmirS.
June 28th, 2012
11:24 am
Here’s the thing…I don’t think anyone would go as far as to say Gasol is better then Josh. Atleast not in my opinion. But Pau Gasol may actually be the best ESTABLISHED player we can get. If I’m gonna trade Josh for picks….it needs to be a top 5 pick. Nothing less then that. I don’t want to trade a growing All-Star for a 10-16 pick that will be good role players at best. If you aren’t talking with the Bobcats, Wizards, Cavs, or Kings to acquire their picks then pull off a Gasol for Josh trade.
Yes Gasol may be 32, but I don’t believe his game is on a full decline and I believe he can still produce All-Star numbers. He knows how to win and can win.
Also….Joe Johnson is ALOT more clutch then LeBron. I was just looking at some videos from this season. Can someone pull up some information and see whose more efficient in the clutch? I believe JJ sores above James in that department.
Astro Joe
June 28th, 2012
11:25 am
Weren’t the Hawks missing Smith, Horford AND Zaza in Game 3 against the Celtics in Boston? Did we lose that game by 30? 20? What’s that, we lost by 6 in OT? Wow.
DS
June 28th, 2012
11:25 am
Ken Strickland, don’t forget about Bogut and Thabeet, those guys are definitely better than Gasol too.
doc
June 28th, 2012
11:30 am
Glad now Nicholson your of/c may be gone one ahead of us by yahoo.
Also see Matt Barnes is a free agent so not available in trade. Durn as he would bring back attitude of josh with pau.
Only way I take pau is to get rid of Marvin. Maybe there is a trade between three teams that might bring us something substantive for Marvin. I could go for that while getting josh where he wants to go and a legit player for him. Obviously pau isn’t as good but sometimes there is addition by subtraction. There are mo Evans types out there or better to replace him and we already saw mo type do that.
Danny ferry lil bro
June 28th, 2012
11:35 am
WE WILL NOT BEAT MIAMI WITH THIS TEAM!!!!!
START NEW!!!!!!!!!
1. trade Joe to dallas for their 1st and a player , rid us of his contract and that will make deron williams go to dallas over the nets. WIN WIN
2. trade AL horford and Marvin to Sac town for tyreke and #5 pick use that pick on MKG or BARNES. rid us of marvins contract and SAC gets thier 4 to go beside Cousins WIN WIN
WE NOW HAVE
Jeff
tyreke
MKG or Barnes
Josh smith(see step three)
ZAZA(see step 4)
Player from dallas
1st rounder from dallas (Perry jones jeremy Lamb or A. rivers) Holla at me BIG DOG!!!!
our own 1st rounder(cant trade it anyway) (andrew nicholson, Jeff taylor, Fab melo or Doron and
maybe will barton) i personally like Fournier also!!!
1st rounder from Sac- MKG or Barnes
tons of cap space!!!!!!! young talent (Assets)
Remember my big bro loves to develop players!!!!!
4.if he still wants to go Trade Josh this year to Houston for #12 (Zeller or Lamb) and thier 18th T.Jones, Moultrie or Royce white) and jon Leur
or
keep him till trade dead line ship him to the best team to win lottery get picks and players(see step 5)
5. 2013 draft is deep with CENTERS!!!!!!!
Nerlens Noel, PF/C, Kentucky, 6-10, HS Sr.
Cody Zeller, C, Indiana, 6-11, Fr.
Isaiah Austin, C, Baylor, 7-0, HS Sr.
Steven Adams, C, Pittsburgh, 7-0, HS Sr.
Patric Young, F/C, Florida, 6-9, Soph
ALL top 5 talent
With the current team of
jeff
tyreke
Mkg or barnes
Josh
ZAZA
more than likely we want win many games so we would have a lottery pick also along with josh smith(lottery pick)!!!+
in a few years we will be on our way with a new fan base to look forward to something, tons of Cap space and young talent (Assets)!!!!
true hawks fans you are welcome!!!!
Holla at me Najeh and BIG DOG!!!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2012
11:36 am
“Un Pau motivado es el mejor center de la liga.Yo aprecio mucho la labor de Josh Smith,pero lo traspasaría por Pau con los ojos cerrados.No me gusta lo que dice Ferry de”construir a largo plazo”significa que no tienen intención de ir a por el campeonato y se quita presión para encarar el presente.Basura.Traer a Pau Gasol a Atlanta cambiaría a la franquicia.
En otro orden cosas espero que eligamos esta noche en el draft a al menos un buen reboteador.Somos el 23 equipo reboteador de la nba,así no hay nada que hacer.Espero a Fab Melo o en su defecto a Sullinger.En segunda ronda Joseph estaría bien.Noche decisiva la de hoy!!GO HAWKS!!!”
Piensa usted que los Hawks van a ganar el campeonato si Gasol viene aqui? Si su respuesta es “no”, es malo para esto equipo.
Construir el largo plazo es necesario porque no es posible para ganar campeonato en el presente.
(I hope that gets me at least a B-)
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2012
11:39 am
Pedro, por favor escribe un “espacio” despues de sus puntos (”.”) porque si usted no lo escribe, el traductor de Google no traduce correctamente.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2012
11:41 am
“So I ask all Hawks fans do you want to retool/reload the team or blow it up?”
I would reload/retool if there was a way to do it that made this team a title contender, but there isn’t unless some team gives the Hawks something valuable for Joe (which isn’t happening). So the answer is to blow it up.
Harpie
June 28th, 2012
11:41 am
Folks, it doesn’t matter what players the Hawks have – Larry Drew is sure to screw things up enough to keep them from being successful.
Just Joe
June 28th, 2012
11:44 am
Lil bro….you better get some shooters on that bench because Teague, Evans, MKG, Josh, and ZaZa is probably the worst shooting starting five in the history of basketball.
Slimjr
June 28th, 2012
11:44 am
Forget Gasol. The Lakers aren’t interested!!! Whew……..
Gasol and All Get Real are not taking you to an ECF or Finals..Dream on…With out Kobe, before and after? Yawn……….
We need more picks!!!! Go younger and maybe in 2-3 years we are in the ECF for the very first time?
44 years = stupid[yes the Hawks have been]
C’mon Danny 3 1st round picks in this years draft will be huge!! Go get them!
You have got to get Nicholson! This guy is a very good basketball player!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L66QmiB0xj4
Danny ferry lil bro
June 28th, 2012
11:44 am
OH yea Fire larry drew after this lottery season and get us a real coach!!!!!
.
Holla at me NAJEH!!!! ha ha
McDawg
June 28th, 2012
11:44 am
STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2012
11:45 am
“Sund proved that you can put together an effective bench by shopping at the Dollar Store.”
Define “effective”. They didn’t do much in the playoffs.
Slimjr
June 28th, 2012
11:46 am
Blow up the Hawks and within 3-4 years with Danny at the helm we are contenders in the East possibly..
This Core needs to be jettisoned asap!
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2012
11:47 am
“I know many can’t stomach another year of Marvin in a Hawks uni, I think using amnesty on him this summer would be a year too soon. If they can trade him tonight, do it. But again, I probably value that clause more than most.”
I agree with this. Amnesty should be reserved for Joe if no viable trade options materialize. Marvin’s contract is short enough and small enough that it can be traded next year even if not this year.
More importantly I am still highly skeptical that this ownership group will be willing to amnesty anyone.
The Real cp
June 28th, 2012
11:48 am
I hope that Ford has no idea what he is talking about and is just guessing about the Hawks draft board. Im not a fan of many of those guys.
vava74
June 28th, 2012
11:49 am
This team has potential – although everyone is already bored to death to look at them, they never played under a COACH.
Yes, we all like novelty, but to ditch a quality group on account of poor performances which HAVE BAD COACHING WRITTEN ALL OVER THEM, is not a sound management decision.
That is why it is SO INFURIATING that the sorry asses ASG picked LD’s option before hiring Ferry and now all parties had to come to public pretending that they had been speaking with Ferry since before that option was taken…
melo 4 president
June 28th, 2012
11:49 am
Answer to all your questions… give Marvin Williams more minutes… he is due for a growth spurt…
PMC
June 28th, 2012
11:49 am
It just makes me mad at Billy Knight again seeing New Orleans about to get a player like Davis when they just lost Paul.
This city, when we had a chance in the lottery got….. Marvin F-ing Williams.
You want to know why the building is empty, that’s why. Marvin Williams and Shelden Williams SMH.
Two guys that can’t play basketball well at the NBA level.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2012
11:50 am
“1. trade Joe to dallas for their 1st and a player , rid us of his contract and that will make deron williams go to dallas over the nets. WIN WIN
2. trade AL horford and Marvin to Sac town for tyreke and #5 pick use that pick on MKG or BARNES. rid us of marvins contract and SAC gets thier 4 to go beside Cousins WIN WIN”
MKG won’t drop that far, Barnes is a major question mark, and Dallas won’t trade for Joe because then they won’t have the cap space for Deron.
Also not a huge Tyreke Evans fan.
Danny ferry lil bro
June 28th, 2012
11:52 am
@JUST JOE
HA HA we will rack up on fouls and we would be defensive also!!!!!!
Look at my late picks for this year
doron lamb
will barton
jeremy lamb
evan fouriner
and free agency!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2012
11:53 am
After watching a bunch of Draftexpress scouting videos last night, I like Harkless and Royce White, and don’t really like Quincy Miller, Perry Jones, or Tony Wroten. I wish they had videos on some of these other players like Jenkins, Barton, Nicholson, etc. but they don’t.
It’s funny that Miller and Jones get so much first round love, because I saw a few Baylor games this year, and the guy that stood out every time was the other Quincy, Quincy Acy, who is supposedly a second round pick.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2012
11:54 am
Oh yeah, Draymond Green is a good pick if this core is going to stay together, because he is the ideal role player for a playoff team, but he may not be the best pick if the Hawks are trying to pick the best player available. I would love that pick if the Hawks were a legitimate contender. Don’t know that it’s quite so good of a pick when this team is about to get broken up.
Danny ferry lil bro
June 28th, 2012
11:55 am
@najeh
dallas has tons of cap room!!!
and use tyreke as and asset if he doesnt work out we still could possibly trade for Dwight with all the picks and assets!!!! and cap room!!!!
Astro Joe
June 28th, 2012
11:56 am
In a compressed season with injuries to 2 of 3 captains, the bench was essential to get us home court advantage. In my way of thinking, that is an effective bench. I can’t dismiss 66 games worth of contribution because of a poor 5 games in the playoffs (they did step up a little in Gmae 3 as I recall). I’d like a better bench but could live with 3 players at the current “captain-level”, Teague being utilized better by head coach AND teammates (hint, hint) and a comparably effective bench for one more season before using some cap flexibility and the end of LD’s contract to make some bold and significant changes to the team.
Ra'mon
June 28th, 2012
11:57 am
Kaboom! That’s my answer.
STRETCH
June 28th, 2012
11:58 am
Well lets all just hope that Danny Ferry can make a change to the organization as a whole. Some things that just happened within the past couple of seasons:
The Miami Heat, Dallas Mavs and OKC Thunder hava all been to the Finals and they havent been in the league as long as Atlanta…and this after adding all their years in the league combined!
Ra'mon
June 28th, 2012
11:59 am
Guys, I really think Fournier will end up becoming as good as Gallenari.
Slimjr
June 28th, 2012
12:00 pm
Agree Ra’mon Kaboom!
Or they are stuck where they are..Like the Fal-cons [P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R-S]
Slimjr
June 28th, 2012
12:02 pm
Last two years the Hawks are 28-47 against the[winners/ .500 and above]!
Kaboom…..
falcon912fan
June 28th, 2012
12:03 pm
I gave the answer to the problems on yesterday. JJ and J -Smoove needs to be gone. Horford needs to play the PF. Here is the post from yesterday. Quite a scenerio…
Ferry will definitely do better than Sund. He did well in Cleveland and San Antonio. I know I’m new here and just dreaming, but listen to these trades: What if Ginobli wants to start…Trade J Johnson for Manu!!! Then trade Josh Smith and Marvin Williams to NJ for a draft pick, Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace. The Nets will definitely do it to entice Dwight Howard to come this year or defintely next year. Think of our lineup… PG Jeff Teague SG Manu SF Gerald Wallace PF Horford C B. Lopez. Bench players PG Pargo SG (draft or bring back Crawford or even JR Smith) SG McGrady PF Ivan the terrible C Za Za.
Wow!!!! What do you guys think??? I’m just a high school basketball coach but I could even coach this lineup…
Hey Danny, do this and hire me as an assistant!!!!!!
Atlhawksfan
June 28th, 2012
12:04 pm
This is probably the best player the hawks will get for smith. Not a lot of teams want him, that’s why he didn’t make the all star team. Good trade finally a good rebounder