Switching Lanes

[PureGreatness]

EC- Pistons

WC- Dallas or Denver

[Swish]

I'm guessing the EC team is Detroit.

For the WC team, may I throw out the possibility of a Smith/Amare swap?

If the Hawks trade their 2nd best player for anything less than a player who would be their 2nd best player, they'll lose JJ when his deal expires.

Mr. H I am pretty ticked you changed your name. I was digging the whole MR H. thing. Whats up with that?!?! You can throw a guy off man...I generally respect your posts so how am I supposed to know it was you?

j/k ;)

[DrReality]

Tantalizing read. And I bet that SMoove pushes for a SnT after what happened with Chill . . . . if it's true. Can't see Smith playing in the triangle offense? I'm leaning toward a trade if we can get fair value because I'm concerned about Smith's attitude coming back after all of this.

[thefloydian]

At first you would think Lakers or Spurs as a West Conf. power but if he is referring to over the last few years I think he might be talking about Dallas and Josh Howard. IMO, it'd be pretty awful to go from Josh Smith to Josh Howard not only b/c I think Smith is the more talented player, fills a more important need and is younger but then what do we do with Marvin Williams. That's kind of the same boat a trade for Tayshaun Prince puts us in.

:P Maybe the team is Phoenix and they are sending back Amare. JK

I'd certainly rather send him West if he isn't going to stay in Atlanta but we CANNOT take back a player like Al Harrington who won't help us win anything and has multiple years left on his deal.

A move including Josh has the makings of a disaster for the Atlanta franchise in the eyes of the fan base.

If Smith gets traded for Josh Howard, I don't think I'll be able to watch the Hawks anymore. I hate that guy, and he's nowhere near as good as Smith.

[AtLaS]

Yeah, this is a terrible article. The Eastern power MUST be Detroit because Boston isn't trading the big 3, Orlando has nothing of value, Toronto just traded for JO, and Cleveland also has nothing. I don't like any trades involving Detroit. I'd rather make the trade out West because there is better returns out there, but I'd much rather resign Smith than anything.

Josh Howard just pulled one of the biggest choke-jobs I've EVER seen in the playoffs this season and we aren't getting a legit center for Smith. No thanks.

Edited July 26, 2008 by AtLaS

[HawksBalla]

Reading this blog made me sick to my stomach.

I agree with the logic that the Eastern conference team is Detroit. If it was Philly (Iggy) or the Bulls then I could be interested, but would you classify either of those teams as big dogs?

There really isnt anything that I'd want from Detroit for our team in its current form. Wallace could play center for us but his skills are declining.

I just cant believe its come to this, the Hawks losing both Joshes. Josh Smith does have some warts, but the bottom line is that he is 22, he is athletically talented, he is exciting, and he can play two positions. Players like that arent very common.

[mrhonline]

Mr. H I am pretty ticked you changed your name. I was digging the whole MR H. thing. Whats up with that?!?! You can throw a guy off man...I generally respect your posts so how am I supposed to know it was you?

j/k ;)

I've always hated the MrH thing to be honest. I don't have a single "H" in my first or last name...

It's actually a funny story, but I'm a little embarrassed of it at this point in my life. I lost my job years ago, and I was so pissed off at that company, that I created an email at hotmail - "mrhonline@hotmail.com." I used that email to contact people at my old company to see if they would still give me a good recommendation, et al. An alter-alias, if you will.

I have no idea why I chose "mrhonline," it just sounded generic enough to get people at that company to spill the beans about my "firing."

[High5]

Amare for Smith is a dream. I do not imagine any SnT would make the vast majority of Atlanta fans happy. I'll always be a Hawks fan with or without Smith, but you can bank on me not buying another ticket as long as these clowns are still running things.

[vdunkndunk]

I'm not opposed to trading Smoove, necessarily, but I'm opposed to getting less than full value in return. My guess is that the two teams involved are Detroit and the Mavericks. Detroit seems like they are really trying to shake things up, so that one seems to make sense. The Smoove for Howard thing has also been rumored, but maybe there are some other Western powers who would be interested in Smoove. Not sure how excited I am about either of those possibilities.

[Diesel]

In my heart, I hope that the WC Power = Portland.

Power not big dog.

If it's PTL, I hope that they are dangling Aldridge.

If that's the case, I'd do it all day.

However, I fear that the WC Power is Houston... and what they're offering in Louis Scola and Shane Battier or Louis Scola and somebody.

The EC Big Dog could only be either: Miami, Cleveland, Detroit, or Boston. My pick is Detroit. Maybe they take Speedy too and give us a combo of players??

[jhay610]

I have been defending the ASG for the most part this offseason but they are treading on VERY thin ice with their fan base right now...They can't take back anything less than a rising superstar for Smooth. He means that much to this city. Josh Howard, Tayshaun Prince....ludicrous.

They openly stated the goal was to get both Joshes back this offseason. If they cant even sign their own RFAs that they drafted and developed....well we may as well settle in for another decade or so. Any SnT better knock my f-ing socks off or they can count me out until the team is sold.

[jhay610]

I have been defending the ASG for the most part this offseason but they are treading on VERY thin ice with their fan base right now...They can't take back anything less than a rising superstar for Smooth. He means that much to this city. Josh Howard, Tayshaun Prince....ludicrous.

They openly stated the goal was to get both Joshes back this offseason. If they cant even sign their own RFAs that they drafted and developed....well we may as well settle in for another decade or so. Any SnT better knock my f-ing socks off or they can count me out until the team is sold.

[jhay610]

sorry for double posting. At the moment I am suffering from a sensory crash as I adjust to the new interface.

Edited July 27, 2008 by jhay610

[Cwell]

I have been defending the ASG for the most part this offseason but they are treading on VERY thin ice with their fan base right now...They can't take back anything less than a rising superstar for Smooth. He means that much to this city. Josh Howard, Tayshaun Prince....ludicrous.

They openly stated the goal was to get both Joshes back this offseason. If they cant even sign their own RFAs that they drafted and developed....well we may as well settle in for another decade or so. Any SnT better knock my f-ing socks off or they can count me out until the team is sold.

don't get your hopes up.We'd be lucky to just get a 1st round pick.Sign and trades suck. we waited 20 years to trade Al Harrington and only got a 1st round pick.

Edited July 27, 2008 by Cwell

[jhay610]

don't get your hopes up.We'd be lucky to just get a 1st round pick.Sign and trades suck. we waited 20 years to trade Al Harrington and only got a 1st round pick.

Believe me I do not have my hopes up whatsoever. I would be very surprised if I am happy at the end of any action in which Smith is not resigned on a long-term contract.

[2Cleva]

Would Josh Smith look better on the Lakers or the Pistons? Reports out of Atlanta say one contending team is each conference is trying to work a sign-and-trade with the Hawks for J-Smoove, and while we don’t know exactly who it is yet, L.A. and Detroit make the most sense. If you replace Tayshaun Prince with Josh Smith (maybe give ATL one of Detroit’s young guys, too), are the Pistons then good enough to knock off the Celtics in a seven-game series?

Dimemag.com

[Hoosier]

Dimemag.com

It would have to a team with at least a 3M+ trade exception, since there has been no mention of a third team. In the East that would be Chicago, Cleveland or New Jersey. In the West that would be Denver, Houston, or Pheonix (not counting OK City).

The West Coast teams mentioned cannot give the Hawks the Center they are looking for. The Eastern teams would be something more plausible.

[2Cleva]

It would have to a team with at least a 3M+ trade exception, since there has been no mention of a third team. In the East that would be Chicago, Cleveland or New Jersey. In the West that would be Denver, Houston, or Pheonix (not counting OK City).

The West Coast teams mentioned cannot give the Hawks the Center they are looking for. The Eastern teams would be something more plausible.

1 - Neither teams are powerhouses - Smith is connected - he said as much as he could without naming team names.

2 - The idea that only teams with trade exceptions can deal for Smith is wrong.

3 - Atlanta is not in control of this S&T. They tried hardball with one Josh and we saw what happen. Josh Smith in a lame duck year won't be good for Atlanta.

[Hoosier]

Don't know where in his article it mentioned "powerhouses", Cleveland is an elite team in the East and could give us Varejoa +. Chicago might be considered an upper echelon team by Smith, after the draft, giving us Noah +. The Hawks will not get near equal value for JS.

It does not matter how connected a reporter is if the math does not add up. Unless the Hawks deal with a third team, such as Memphis (not) or a team with a $3M trade exception, then they can only deal one on one with a team that has a $3M trade exception. Of course the Hawks could always throw in Bibby, but I don't see them blowing-up the team like that.

I have not seen anyone else on here mention trading partner teams with trade exceptions, maybe Mr. Honline can weigh in on this?

Edited July 27, 2008 by Hoosier

[2Cleva]

It does not matter how connected a reporter is if the math does not add up. Unless the Hawks deal with a third team, such as Memphis (not) or a team with a $3M trade exception, then they can only deal one on one with a team that has a $3M trade exception. Of course the Hawks could always throw in Bibby, but I don't see them blowing-up the team like that.

I have not seen anyone else on here mention trading partner teams with trade exceptions, maybe Mr. Honline can weigh in on this?

BYC is tricky no doubt but many more deals than for trade exception can be done.

I'll point to a comment made in the "BYC Makes Smith So Hard to Trade" thread

yes it does -

Odom = $14,148,596

to match the Hawks have to be credited with sending out $11,238,876.50 in salary. That multipled by 125% + $100,000 = Odom's $14,148,596

Josh Smith at $10,962,117 starting salary counts as $5,481,058.50 to the Hawks (technically i'm not sure if the NBA rounds up or down the 50 cents - I'll have to look into that)

Speedy is $5,757,818

For the Lakers their incoming salary needs to be less than or equal to Odom's salary * 125% + $100,000

The combination of Smith + Speedy = $16,719,935

That easily works for the Lakers since the max they can take in for Odom is $17,785,745

For the Hawks, the combination of Smith accouting for byc ($5,481,048.50) + Claxton totals $11,238,876.50

As I noted above - that's the number the Hawks need to send out

In other words - it's legal.

There are a lot more deals than just Josh for a TE. Tricky - yes. Impossible? No.

Edited July 27, 2008 by 2Cleva