T21

http://www.hoopsworld.com/10-nba-dream-trades-wed-love-to-see-at-the-trade-deadline/

You gotta give them some credit, as they keep coming at us like Joe Frazier!

This one though is creative and actually pretty good looking from our perspective.

We would receive Pekovic, Williams and Roy for Smith and Zaza.

It would give us new and solid front-court of Pekovic, Al and Williams...

Very interesting and creative!

This is probably the only deal out there that wouldn't cripple us as far as athleticism is concerned... We would get an athletic 7-foot center to play alongside Al, who would slide to 4... We'd still be able to run and play dynamic-type basketball.

The only Q mark is Teague for Bledsoe... I haven't seen Bledsoe enough to convince myself he's worth giving up JT, who's really improving and becoming an asset on both ends of the floor.

Finally I've read an opinion that in my view sums up Ferry's position on ever-evolving Smoove trade rumors... and believe it or not, it's comming from an ESPN writer! Here's the quote:

(asked what are the chances Smoove gets traded by the dead-line)

Windhorst: Seven pecent. After months of evaluating it, the Hawks have decided they are willing to move him. However, they seem to have a very narrow view of what they want. They are interested in protecting their cap space for the summer or getting quality young prospects. They are much more likely to let Smith walk in free agency or work a sign-and-trade than make a deal for a player like Kris Humphries.

Ferry must keep all avenues wide open and not become trigger-happy... If the right deal doesn't present itself, we're better off either re-signing Smith or make a sign-and-trade in the offseason...

Remember, if we're not able to attract D12 or CP3, then Smoove suddenly becomes next best available FA! Go figure...

We should make a move by the trade deadline! I'm not talking about landscape changing moves, but with all exp. contracts it would be wise to try to get some draft picks / talents... Just in case we're able to land one or two superstars (max or near max players), we'll need pieces to complete the roster...

If I'm not mistaking... I think that the fact Smoove wasn't selected as an All-Star (once again) had a lot to do with this statement. He probably spoke to his agent as well and this came out... I read this statement as partially emotional for obvious reasons and partially for purposes of testing the market of soon to begin free agency...

Brown is terrible! He's got no clue about basketball!

I would love to get Drummond, because kid is going to develop into a dominant center for sure... He would pair nicely with Horford, who would serve as his mentor as well...

However, I'm not so sure Pistons would trade him, as I expect they would rather trade Monroe and look for a PF to play with Drummond.

Anyway, if we decide to trade Smoove, this is probably the best idea I've seen so far on our board.

Cousins is an extraordinary talent at center position. The fact that there are less and less true centers around, especially those who can play well in the post, makes him even more attractive...

However, the flip-side to him is already well known to anybody who even remotely follows NBA...

Obviously the Kings have had enough and that itself should be an alarm for potential takers. To me Kings are not an organisation that would give up quickly unless they are certain that this kid's not gonna change.

On the other hand, Celtics can go ahead with this calculated gamble for several reasons... First, Cousins' obvious talent. Second, they believe that he'll turn the corner under tutelage of their veterans. Third and perhaps most important from C's perspective, they're old and they know this cycle is over... so they are prepared to gamble...

As for us... I'm sure Ferry has a clear plan and knows what he wants to do... and I'd leave it at that.

... no love for the 'fro, aka Hessian Horseman...

I've seen reports that Chillz asked to be waived by the Nets... Apart from sentimental angle, I could see him as a valuable SF, adding more depth... Your thoughts?

Love is a stat-player!

I value both Josh and Al more than Love...

Sure, those stats look pretty, but Love ain't much of a defender and he surely demands lots of touches on offense... Again, I have nothing against Love, but our tandem of Al and Josh is well paired, with excellent chemistry and I wouldn't want to mess that up.

D will be the key for us, as well as rebounding, boxing-out... just be more aggressive overall.

One thing is sure, we'll need an A game from our front-court.

We should try to sign Korver to an extension. Yes, he is 31, but he's in very good shape and his game is sharp-shooting and playing smart basketball, so I'm sure he'll keep it up for at least 3-4 years... Just look at Ray Allen and the way he was able to evolve his game and stay productive throughout...

Teague is a good kid and I'm happy for him... He's got lots of tools to work with and now, along with his personal emergence, he needs to keep working on his play-making, decision making, just keep improving...

... muff hair is the only acceptable evidence! Period!

It would surely work, especially if Drew doesn't find minutes to play A.M.It would give us different look, more options... on one hand we would have Kyle, the shooter, at SF and Brewer, the slasher, defender, on the other hand...

Sounds intriguing... It would give us a 7-foot center and slide Horf to PF... I think it would improve our D!P.S. I don't know if Bulls would do it, because their D with Pau and Boozer would be awful (although Bulls have coveted Gasol for quite some time now...).

Smoove is combo forward anyway so it really doesn't matter that much... it depends on who we play, match-ups...

Granger is 6'9" and a good rebounder, which would allow us to play frontcourt of Al, Smoove and Granger without great concern that we'd get out-rebounded and overpowered...

... a long, long time ago I've said that we'll have make a difficult decision sometime down the road and trade one of our two PF's, Al or Smoove and simply allow them to play their best games at their default position.Having said that I want to make it clear that I like both of them... and this is just my impartial evaluation .However, as things stand Al is signed long-term, while Smoove's contract expires at the end of the season. Smoove will likely demand big, long-term contract.Those are the facts!DF has to make a decision... are we gonna (probably) overpay for a PF (we already have Al) and cripple our financial ability to add true pieces that would make us serious contenders and fundamentally sound basketball team, or we're gonna try to get some value in return for Smoove and fill obvious needs for a Center, or SF, or SG, and draft pick.

Thanks, but NO thanks!Brown is simply a joke and that's an understatement!P.S. I have respect for LD as a former player, assistant and now a Head Coach, although many posters would disagree. LD is a decent coach, trying to make the best of the situation (ownership turmoil, management changes, roster changes, trying to keep his job...)! Well, so far he's done a decent job considering it all... Naturally, it's not good enough for us Squawkers...

Indy would surely like to pair Smoove with Hibbert, but I'm not so sure they would be willing to part ways with George... George is probably the only player I'd be interested in bringing to ATL, he's going to be something special!

Josh Smith is no Dominique Wilkins. Not even close to Nique. And this isn't even young Nique. This is OLD Nique. http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9yzjMrCNZw Nique and Smith only have dunking in common. And even in that aspect, Nique is light years ahead of Smith because Smith only goes into traffic and dunks on people when he's mad ( see the Ibaka dunk ) . Meanwhile, Nique used to do it all the time. Nique did it to electrify the crowd and embarrass people. Josh is the 2nd coming of Larry Nance, a guy who was a great help defensive player who could also score the basketball. But even Nance had a better jumper and post game than Josh. Nance played on those very good Cleveland Cavalier teams that couldn't get past Jordan and the Bulls. Keep in mind that Josh had 28.4% usage last year ( superstar type usage ), and led the Hawks in shots last year . . and he still only averaged 19 ppg. And that's because he's a below average FT shooter and only shot 46% FG from the PF spot. Josh an All-Star . . yes Josh a Superstar . . no way

You're just a little too harsh on Smoove... I think he's a star in the NBA and a unique player who can fill the stat sheet and excite the crowd on both ends of the floor. However, I agree with you that Smoove is nowhere near Nique! I remember the game against the Blazers as if it was yesterday (I think I still have it on VHS tape)! Nique tormented on of the best defensive teams in the league, who tried D by committee with the likes of Kersey, Clyde, Uncle Cliff, Mario Elie...

The environment or the culture change, as we like to say, doesn't happen over night...However, IMHO, Hawks have done fair share of hard work to make that change come true over the course of last few years.Hawks have been consistent playoff team for quite some time, they brought in a young, ambitious GM, who has a vision and doesn't want to settle for mediocrity. That vision is shared by ownership (regardless of our criticism), who showed they're willing to spend in order to get top level talent.As things stand, we have a decent core, lots of cap space and a capable GM!If that doesn't sound attractive, I'm not sure what's the meaning of that word anymore!P.S. Perhaps there is room for improvement in coaching dept. (no disrespect to LD), perhaps a better and more experienced HC would make us even more attractive and I'm sure that GM will take care of that as well...