Atlanta Hawks: New contract for Smith ‘unlikely’ this season
Vivlamore reporting.
Josh Smith is entering the final year of his current contract with the Hawks but it is “unlikely” that he will be re-signed before the end of the upcoming season. The forward is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Don’t panic yet Hawks fans.
Under the rules of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, it could be advantageous for Smith, and to some degree the Hawks, to wait on a new contract. In simplest terms, if Smith re-signs with the Hawks before June 30, the extension can be for only a maximum of three years. If he waits until after his contract expires, he can re-sign for up to five years.
According to Hawks general manager Danny Ferry, Smith and his agents have said he would like to remain in Atlanta.
“I’ve been clear that I value Josh as a player,” Ferry told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He has worked hard this summer and I believe he is going to have great season. I’ve been in contact with his representatives. Josh and his representatives have been clear that he is excited about the direction of the team and wants to be part of the future in Atlanta. That being said, I don’t expect the contract situation to be resolved until next summer.”
Smith and the rest of the Hawks will officially report for training camp on Monday with practices beginning the next day.
There is an element of risk for both sides in not reaching an agreement early. Smith could be injured or have a poor season prior to being eligible for the free agency market. There would be more money available to him by way of two extra years on a new contract if he stays with the Hawks. On the other side, the Hawks could lock Smith to a longer term but also run the risk of losing him to free agency.
Negotiations are not completely closed and there is always a possibility, albeit slim, that a deal could be worked out before next summer.
Smith, a co-captain last season, led the team in points (tied with the departed Joe Johnson at 18.8) and rebounds (9.6) per game. He and Jeff Teague were the only players to appear in all 66 regular-season games.
- Chris Vivlamore
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105 comments Add your comment
True Grit
September 25th, 2012
9:18 pm
OH, I see your point Sautee/Clarification. Which ever you want to be at what ever moment.
You are saying that Al has a .1(point one) average greater than Koncak so when and if Al makes it to 784 games he should have a slight edge. I see your point although its a little flawed. I dont know that Al can keep that .1 (point one) edge over Koncak with as many games of record. They are very similar, I’ll grant that . I would still give the edge to Koncak because Al hasnt played that many games yet.
But I agree with your analysis. Al Koncak and Jon Horford are very similar.
True Grit
September 25th, 2012
9:21 pm
Hoops that trade that send Al to Utah for Al gets my vote big time.
SB75
September 25th, 2012
9:36 pm
D Man
Can you please elaborate on the locker room beef, that you spoke of?
SB75
September 25th, 2012
9:48 pm
True Grit
IMHO…… Ferry will be making a run at trying to put a big 3 together with Smith, Howard, and CP3. With that said I don’t think he’ll look into trying to bring in another player in Jefferson that can walk away. They have already created enough cap room as long as they sign Paul and Howard before using Smith’s Bird rights to re-sign him.
I’m not going out on a limb and saying he’s going to get those guys, but I am saying from everything I have read and heard the Hawks are going to try to be a big player in FA next sumer. A trade I would consider today for AL is to Det for Drummond, Daye, and Det’s first round draft pick.
Hawks fan
September 25th, 2012
10:13 pm
Horrible trade Hoops! Al is the man!
i_am_soulstar
September 25th, 2012
10:24 pm
I would send Al to Detroit for anyone not named Greg Monroe.
Melvin
September 25th, 2012
10:33 pm
Astro,
It may be safe for you to purchase that Josh jersey now…LOL
Buddy Grizzard
September 25th, 2012
10:43 pm
“Another account from that same season of how LD “protected” Horford against anything resembling foul trouble.” – Astro Joe
Not only that, AJ, but in that game Josh Powell was the first big man off the bench. You know, the same Josh Powell who hasn’t had a job in the NBA since he left the Hawks. This is what’s wrong with Larry Drew’s talent evaluation. There are 29 other NBA coaches who didn’t think Josh Powell deserved to be on a roster. Larry Drew thought he should play ahead of Zaza Pachulia.
Here’s the popcorn machine for that game:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20110419&game=ATLORL
As you can see, Powell was -7 in the first half and Drew didn’t even bother to play him in the second half. Zaza was +6 for the game. So the Hawks were 13 points better with Zaza on the floor than with Powell on the floor. They lost the game by 6.
Melvin
September 25th, 2012
10:53 pm
Soulstar,
You must no have seen Greg Monroe play. He’s a young stud and probably more idea to play center than Horford…. I can’t blame neither team for not wanting to swap those players….
Ken Strickland
September 25th, 2012
10:59 pm
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1345761-how-josh-smith-must-raise-his-game-in-2012-13
Here’s a very informative and accurate article on JSmith and what he needs to do in order to really help his team and his gm.
Buddy G
September 25th, 2012
11:29 pm
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/25/dont-expect-atlanta-to-extend-josh-smith-which-means-more-trade-rumors/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Atlanta walt
September 26th, 2012
12:19 am
I really think we have a good team here , just my faith in the coach to play the right people is not positive, I allways thought that josh should have been the focus point to this team, hopefully he will finally realize that he has the overall skills to take over a game and lead the HAWKS to greater heights,
H4L
September 26th, 2012
3:34 am
QUESTION ARE WE GOING TO HAVE THE ANNUAL FANTASY BASKETBALL LEAGUE?
Josh Smith Unlikely to sign a new contract this season » Trendbasket.net
September 26th, 2012
5:12 am
[...] More on: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Chris Vivlamore) Author: Orhun Özdemir, Category: NBA, Date: 26 September 2012 Tweet [...]
PEDRO EL GITANO
September 26th, 2012
6:27 am
Con Josh recibiendo en el poste bajo todo fluye fácil,JJ lo complicaba todo.Smith será all-star,si no se suspende la temporada.Ahora mire esto:
PG:D.Harris-J.Teague
SG:L.Williams-A.Morrow-D.Stevenson-J.Jenkins
SF:A.Tolliver-D.James-K.Korver
PF:J.Smith-I.Johnson-M.Scott
C:A.Horford-Z.Pachulia-K.Benson-J.Petro
SOLO BOSTON Y BROOKLYN PODRÍAN COMPETIR CON ESTE EQUIPAZO!!
UNA PLANTILLA HECHA A MI GUSTO!!!!!!!!!!!
Rubuen
September 26th, 2012
8:14 am
Sautee how many different names are you going to use? LOL Ive clocked you with 4 so far… damn exactly what kind of troll are you ?
Sautee/clarification/sb75(southern bullscht)/atlanta walt.
I cant wait to see your next new troll name sautee but for real you ought to give it a rest
____________________________________________________________________________
soulstar – count me on board with trading Al for any body in Detroit not named Monroe. I cant see that as much of an upgrade. We trade one project child for another.
Ditto on the Hoops/True Grit Trade Al horford for Al Jefferson. That instantly moves us from pretender to contender
Harris
Williams
Korver
JSmoove
Jefferson.
That gives us a young team with seasoned vets and strong leadership in Smoove, Jefferson and Harris. There would then be enough talent to run inside out or out side in. You can break, run the half court sets that are so important in the playoffs and isolate to show up other teams weaknesses… kind of like what other coaches do to get Al horford 1 on 1 under the basket.
Gone would be the necessary rotation to help Al horford on defense and the limited options offensively that Al horford brings. Other teams would have to stay home on Jefferson offensively, and in most cases send rotational double teams against him. That opens the total offensive package up for guys like Smoove and Harris Korver to tear teams a new ass. Then Josh can fully use his multi talent game and Harris can quarterback this team intelligently.
Al is really the cog in this team going to the next level. Keeping Al at center, well, you’ve should have seen enough by now to know we’d be having this same conversation again this time next year.
Al Horford is part of the problem not part of the solution.
____________________________________________________________________________
I dont know if super Danny is going to make a run at D12 and CP3 or not. We cant assume that D12 is not going to resign with the Lakers. We can add CP3 to form
CP3/Harris
Williams/Korver/Morrow
Krover/Morrow
Smoove/Ivan Johnson
A Jefferson/Zaza/Petro
Buddy Grizzard
September 26th, 2012
8:22 am
“Ditto on the Hoops/True Grit Trade Al horford for Al Jefferson. That instantly moves us from pretender to contender”
Yeah cause the Jazz are contenders w/ Jefferson. He’s done so much dmg in the playoffs.
Rubuen
September 26th, 2012
8:40 am
Buddy Just because Jefferson hasnt won a title with the Jazz doesnt mean hes not super talented and cant win one with the right pieces around him on the hawks.
Your logic lacks rational and sounds more like bitterness than wisdom.
Jefferson has only been with the Jazz for 2 years. He is currently making only 2mil more than Al horford so the trade numbers can easily work. And is game is far and away better than Al’s
Jeffersons last five years on offense
21.0
23.0
17.1
18.6
19.2
Now, Buddy, get past your bitterness and compare those numbers to Al’s last 5 years…. just so you can see how limited Al’s game is.
We are trying to up the level of play not more of the same ol thang. Al Horford is holding this team back.
gtt
September 26th, 2012
8:42 am
I’d rather they sign him now. I prefer shorter contracts (see Joe Johnson), not that I expect Josh to turn into Joe.
Rubuen
September 26th, 2012
8:46 am
*And his game is far and away better than Al’s
Rubuen
September 26th, 2012
8:55 am
By the way… Jefferson had an 18.2 average in the playoffs last year. Couple that with Josh Smiths 16.8 in last years playoffs and thats a monster of a front court. Clearly that would be one of the best in the NBA and capable of taking us to the next level. Add CP3 and yea… it doesnt take a rocket scientist to see the upside.
By the way, To follow what the maestro Chris V is putting out there, check out this link and also read Schultz.
This is Josh’s team Buddy. Like it or not.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-am-the-future-of-josh-smith-in-atlanta/
SLAM ONLINE | » Atlanta Hawks Won’t Offer Josh Smith a Contract Extension This Season
September 26th, 2012
9:01 am
[...] of late, and according to GM Danny Ferry, the team will look to re-sign the forward once he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. Per the AJC: “Josh Smith is entering the final year of his current contract with [...]
Ken Strickland
September 26th, 2012
9:03 am
BUDDYG-You need to be carefull about posting links that even remotely suggest trading Josh Smith. Don’t forget, we have some ANALS on these blogs that would love to hang around his jockstrap waiting for a sniff. They think he’s the perfect player and can do no wrong. In fact, they actually believe he and Horford are complete opposites.
Things like facts, common sense, reality, logic, and intelligence seem to be well beyond their grasp. So they over indulge in one fantasy trade suggestion after another to make themselves feel better while indulging their delusional fantasies. It currently appears that trading Al Horford for Utah center Al Jefferson has become the center of their delusional fantasy.
Mike is Back
September 26th, 2012
9:04 am
I’m looking forward to seeing JOSH and AL dominate…I really have a GREAT deal of admiration for both guys. I think both guys are All Star caliber…It will be interesting to see how they respond to this new challenge…I think they are more than up to the task.
Hopefully, both guys will dish out a TON OF CROW.LOL
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Astro Joe
September 26th, 2012
9:12 am
Melvin, no thanks, I’m thinking about picking up an Antoine Walker Hawks jersey… I have a thing for annoying , jump-shooting PFs who think the world of themselves.
doc
September 26th, 2012
9:13 am
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4371/career;_ylt=ApqnZbIsLasDPKMBHV3687PHPaB4
a little more on tolliver than given in other blog where we only got ppg and rpg.
anyone know what to expect from this guy? is he more the pf and will compete with ivan for time off the bench?
Astro Joe
September 26th, 2012
9:18 am
vava, you do realize that most “energy” players usually play less than 10 minutes/game. So sure, if someone thinks Tolliver can go out there and play SF for 10 minutes, have at it. Anymore than 5 token minutes/half and we’ve got BIG trouble.
Buddy, thanks. I thought that the whole “Horford soft in the playoffs” thing could be linked to LD’s stupid 2-foul rule and his penchant for jump-shooters. Most basketball players will do whatever it takes to get major playing time and if you’re playing for LD, that means shooting (and sometimes making) jumpers and staying out of anything that resembles foul trouble. Lou Williams, Kyle Korver, John Jenkins and Anthony Morrow will be perfect for LD.
DS
September 26th, 2012
9:22 am
“Gone would be the necessary rotation to help Al horford on defense and the limited options offensively that Al horford brings”
Have you watched any Hawks game? So Al needs help on defense and is limited on offense? The quality of the posts on this blog has gone down the crapper…
DS
September 26th, 2012
9:25 am
And to make your argument even better, you suggest trading Al for Jefferson who everyone knows is a defensive liability…yet he’s supposed to make us “contenders.”
DS
September 26th, 2012
9:31 am
One las thing! Your proposed starting lineup has LWilliams, Korver and Jefferson. How would you think that is gonna go on D? Seriously, do you even like basketball at all? Are you just compiling stuff you read from others?
Buddy Grizzard
September 26th, 2012
9:45 am
“Jefferson has only been with the Jazz for 2 years.”
Right and before that he took Minnesota to the finals? At what point do we stop making the excuse that a player doesn’t have the right pieces around him and just say it… Al Jefferson is not good enough to take his team on a deep playoff run. He puts up good stats on mediocre teams. Wow… can we bring back Abdur Rahim? Get Jefferson in here now!
Hawks Won’t Give Smith Contract During Season; Open Door for C’s? « CelticFanChat
September 26th, 2012
9:46 am
[...] AJC and Chris Vivlamore is reporting that despite a solid relationship over the past few months, the [...]
Chris Vivlamore
September 26th, 2012
9:50 am
DMan: Here is something Ferry said yesterday about the big man situation. “Josh and Al and ZaZa, that’s a good core of bigs with good depth around them.” I think they will probably start the season as is in that department. That being said, I get the impression if something makes sense he would make a move.
Buddy Grizzard
September 26th, 2012
9:53 am
“anyone know what to expect from this guy? is he more the pf and will compete with ivan for time off the bench?”
I don’t know what to expect. Minnesota signed Lou Amundson because they didn’t want Tolliver back. He’s a victim of the locker room purge in Minny, and he comes to the Hawks talking about what a great jump shooter he is when his numbers are terrible.
He’s only 6-8 but he doesn’t have the ball handling skills to play SF, which is what we need. You’re exactly right, he will take minutes away from Ivan who is a much better player. This is the worst move of the Danny Ferry era.
Buddy Grizzard
September 26th, 2012
9:55 am
And it has Larry Drew written all over it.
Ken Strickland
September 26th, 2012
9:55 am
So far we know our training camp roster will consist of AHorford, JSmith, JTeague, ZPachulia, IJohnson, DHarris, AMorrow, LWilliams, KKorver, DStevenson, JPetro, JJenkins, MScott, ATolliver, JAnderson, and DJames. It’s very surprising that a full list of invitees has yet to be released with training camp just 7 days away from starting.
There has to be a lot of additional players invited, otherwise there won’t be much competition for a 15 man roster with only 16 players competing. We definitely have 2 starting positions open, SG and SF. I seriously doubt if any SG added to the training camp roster will have a chance to compete with LWilliams, DHarris, AMorrow, or JJenkins for the SG position.
Now SF is another matter altogether. So far we have DJames, JAnderson and KKorver vying for the position, with JSmith lurking in the wings as an option. The degree of recovery from injuries could play a major role in deciding if Anderson and/or James has a chance. Korver isn’t a viable option since he’s one dimensional on OFF, an insufficient rebounder, and a total DEF liability.
I recently read a scouting report that said JJenkings was the best pure shooter in this yrs draft, as well as the most NBA ready player. I wouldn’t be too quick to count this guy out as a potential starter at SG. He appears to be the 2nd coming of a shorter and maybe more physical version of Reggie Miller.
I’m not worried about who starts at SG because we have too many viable options. However, the overall success of this season rests in the hands of whoever wins the SF battle. If Anderson or James step up, we’ll be in good hands. If JSmith ends up at the position, we’ll be in much better hands.
Astro Joe
September 26th, 2012
10:07 am
Guys, sometimes you need a diversity of skills at certain positions. Ivan and Tolliver complement each other and frankly, neither appear to be worthy of 24 minutes each and every game regardless of the opposition. Sometimes, the head coach may need more defense and toughness, other times he may need more offense and spacing. IMO, that is one of the problems with Teague and Harris, they don’t really complemnt each other skill wise… they are mostly redundant. Same for Morrow, Korver and (maybe) Jenkins).
Clarification
September 26th, 2012
10:29 am
“Jeffersons last five years on offense
21.0
23.0
17.1
18.6
19.2
“Now, Buddy, get past your bitterness and compare those numbers to Al’s last 5 years…. just so you can see how limited Al’s game is.”
I’m not Buddy (or even Sautee) but if one compares players, then the number of FGA per game must be taken into account.
Jefferson’s last 5 years: 351 games: 5908 FGA: 16.8 FGA / gm: .498%
Horford’s last 5 years: 317 games: 3133 FGA: 9.8 FGA / gm: .537%
Give Al Jefferson Horford’s meager 9.8 FGA/ gm and a shooting % much lower than Horford and guess what he averages? Not as much as Horford, since his % is so much lower.
Al Jefferson playoff averages: 10.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.0 bpg
Al Horford playoff averages: 11.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.6 spg, 1.1 bpg
Just the facts, ma’am.
Ken Strickland
September 26th, 2012
10:49 am
ASTRO JOE-Good points. I’ve read scouting reports on Morrow, Korver and Jenkins. Morrow is considered a streak shooter, but when he’s on he’s dangerous. He’s athletic and has the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket. Korver is considered a 3pt specialist who doesn’t drive to the basket and doesn’t have much of a midrange gm.
Jenkins is considered a pure shooter with unlimited range who also has an excellent midrange gm. He also has the ability to put it on the floor and get to the basket, but he doesn’t do it often. He’s not particularly athletic, but he’s deceptively quick. It’s believed he has the ability to improve and his DEF and become an adequate DEF player.
He’ll be under his rookie contract for the next few yrs, and will be a restricted FA when his contract runs out, which isn’t the case with any of our other SG candidates. Ferry just might decide to go with the rookie at SG because he has more upside and won’t cost more money or take up anymore cap space to keep beyond this season.
Whether JSmith is resigned after this season could depend on who Ferry can sign during FA.
Ken Strickland
September 26th, 2012
10:58 am
CLARIFICATION-You must keep in mind that these ANALS can’t comprehend the excellent and well presented facts like the ones you just presented. They’re not programmed, competent, and/or intelligent enough to comprehend and/or accept anything that doesn’t support their delusional paradigms about certain players.
One of these clowns actually said that Zaza was a better rim defender than Horford. Can you believe that delusional BS?
MsDee
September 26th, 2012
11:02 am
NEW BLOG UP AGAIN, WOW, Chris is on a role!!
Rick James
September 26th, 2012
11:03 am
September 25th, 2012
8:42 pm
New hawks season, new beat writer, same whack jobs. Hopefully CV can clean up some of these posts. People from across the nation actually read this blog.
Anywho, looking forward to the work CV will do this season and beyond. It’s an exciting era in atl basketball
—————————————————————————————————————————–
And this comes from someone calling himself “prison mike”
Astro Joe
September 26th, 2012
11:09 am
Strickland, I have long held that Van Exel has had a positive impact on Teague. Specifically, the little floater that has helped Teague become a much better player. I recall Teague having his shot blocked quite often when he was a rookie, because he wasn’t used to the quickness and athleticism of NBA bigs who could swat his lay-up attempts. NVE had a lethal floater as a player and I think that Teague has been much better shooting in the lane because of NVE’s help. I say all of that because I think Jenkins could also likely use a floater. Obviously, when the defender sees him standing behind the 3 line, they will attempt to “run him off” that shot. If Jenkins learns to pump fake and drive and get off a successful floater he could easily become a very potent offensive player. That floater won’t happen after 2 days or even 2 months… it will take time. As I said the other day, if Jenkins doesn’t get a ton of playing time before the trade deadline, I don’t think it would stunt his growth… NVE could be spending quality time with him geting him ready for life after either Korver and/or Morrow are traded. I still believe that player development isn’t just about giving guys time in real games… I think the bulk of player development happens out-of-sight of the most devoted bloggers/fans.
martin
September 26th, 2012
11:54 am
signing Josh to a max deal would be the same mistake the organization made with Joe 5 years ago. Your dammed if you do an dammed if you don’t scenario. Use him as trade bait and build around Al and JT.
Buddy Grizzard
September 26th, 2012
11:59 am
Clarification with the flawless victory.
“He appears to be the 2nd coming of a shorter and maybe more physical version of Reggie Miller.”
As much as I hated the pick on draft night, I kinda see this as well. Going to depend on Drew running plays to get him open because Joe Johnson he ain’t.
Pick and Roll
September 26th, 2012
12:50 pm
[...] Nenê pode perder a pré-temporada do Wizards com uma fascite plantar. – O Hawks ainda não pensa em dar uma extensão para o ala-pivô Josh Smith, cujo contrato termina em junho do ano que vem. – O ala Danny Granger [...]
Ted Striker
September 26th, 2012
1:13 pm
Good column, Chris V.
Always appreciate your effort and writing.
Josh Smith unlikely to get extension before training camp
September 26th, 2012
1:24 pm
[...] Read more at AJC. [...]
sam'l
September 26th, 2012
2:10 pm
So, we will actually get some news on the team…..good…..
It’s been pretty obvious that Smith is close to being a head case……but has tremendous talent. It is possible that he cost a few playoff victories because he refused to play “the right way” or in one case I saw seemed to have a sulking spell. It is also obvious that unless he gets exactly what he wants he is going to put the Hawks through a long drawn-out drama like Dwight and no one is going to know what this team is going to look like until it’s too late to salvage another year.
I don’t want Smith for 5 years. There is much potential for serious injury, because of the high energy he plays with and needs to succeed. I also don’t want to sit around this year and then find next year is also going to be a rebuilding year. Actually, unless Smith plays within the game plan, I don’t particularly want him around THIS year, and I think he is a GREAT PLAYER!
Sorry….hope things turn around so I can be positive, but I think we have blown a lot of chances with some pretty decent ballplayers…….I saw Dominique-Bird playoff matchup from a few years back and the excitement level there was about where I would expect the Hawks to be………
D Man
September 26th, 2012
7:51 pm
Thats great Chris V ! thanks for the follow up.