Switching Lanes

[Hoosier]

I see your point, about other possibilities.

But, dealing only with the teams with trade exceptions gives the ASG a chance to take back half of JS's salary, plus maybe get their serviceable big man. My guess is that if they do a S&T, it will be with Chicago or Cleveland.

[tmac13]

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

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

You also have to consider the makeup of the team you trade with. For example the Lakers depend quite a bit on Odoms point forward ability much like the Bulls did with Pippen under Jackson. Smoove simply cannot be a point forward. I could see him fitting very well between Gasol and Odom as their skills are a perfect compliment with his, but the Lakers also have Bynum. I have always thought of Smoove as a Dennis Rodman type of player with much greater ability. I might think Jackson might view him in a similar way. Jackson seems to have the ability to get players to play within themselves and in order for Smoove to be a great player he has to learn that. Many people here have said the Lakers would never move Bynum but I disagree. They are trying to win a championship this year and next. An Odom, Smoove and Gasol frontline is very similar to the Pippen, Rodman, and Wennington frontlines that along with Jordan were so successful under Jackson except way more talented. There is also the fact that the Lakers are interested in bringing Kwame back. Unless they were thinking of moving a big they are already stocked with Gasol, Bynum, and Mihm. So maybe Bynum is a possibility and his salary could make a deal work. I could see them telling Smoove we will pay you the money and you be our Rodman and concentrate on defense and rebounding and get your points in the flow of the game. They also know in the next couple of years that in order to win a championship they will likely have to go through Boston and few guys play Garnett as well as Smoove.

Edited July 27, 2008 by tmac13

[2Cleva]

You also have to consider the makeup of the team you trade with. For example the Lakers depend quite a bit on Odoms point forward ability much like the Bulls did with Pippen under Jackson. Smoove simply cannot be a point forward. I could see him fitting very well between Gasol and Odom as their skills are a perfect compliment with his, but the Lakers also have Bynum. I have always thought of Smoove as a Dennis Rodman type of player with much greater ability. I might think Jackson might view him in a similar way. Jackson seems to have the ability to get players to play within themselves and in order for Smoove to be a great player he has to learn that. Many people here have said the Lakers would never move Bynum but I disagree. They are trying to win a championship this year and next. An Odom, Smoove and Gasol frontline is very similar to the Pippen, Rodman, and Wennington frontlines that along with Jordan were so successful under Jackson except way more talented. There is also the fact that the Lakers are interested in bringing Kwame back. Unless they were thinking of moving a big they are already stocked with Gasol, Bynum, and Mihm. So maybe Bynum is a possibility and his salary could make a deal work. I could see them telling Smoove we will pay you the money and you be our Rodman and concentrate on defense and rebounding and get your points in the flow of the game. They also know in the next couple of years that in order to win a championship they will likely have to go through Boston and few guys play Garnett as well as Smoove.

Good point about the makeup of the team. That said, Odom has failed multiple times as point-forward for LA. He no longer is in that role at all. Nothing like Pippen.

LA is more likely to deal Kobe than Bynum.

[HawksBalla]

Good point about the makeup of the team. That said, Odom has failed multiple times as point-forward for LA. He no longer is in that role at all. Nothing like Pippen.

LA is more likely to deal Kobe than Bynum.

What about Gasol? With Bynum coming back to play center, they might figure they'd be better with Odom/Smoove. Plus Gasol flopped in the Finals.

[emplay]

the Lakers would consider Odom - though that's no lock that they trade him. They'd' move guys like Vlad and Walton of course. They won't trade Kobe, Fisher, Sasha, Bynum and Gasol. If they were getting their future at the point - they'd trade Farmar. Other players might be throw ins - but the only "big piece" they'd really consider is Odom. If that's not good enough for the Hawks - or if LA won't make that move - then so be it.

[2Cleva]

he Pistons might be that "Eastern Conference big dog". Any sign and trade that involves the Pistons and the Hawks would have to include a third team because both teams are over the salary cap and Smith would become a BYC player as soon as he signed any contract that gave him more than a 20% raise. Since the rumors are that Smith will receive a starting salary ranging from 9-12 million, the BYC status is assured.

With the Hawks backed into the proverbial corner and Smith wanting out of Atlanta, the Hawks management will have to act or risk losing more and more leverage. The rumored trade would involve Smith going to Detroit with Amir Johnson and Tayshaun Prince going to Atlanta. Those would be just the primary pieces to any deal, and the only third team that has any cap space left to facilitate a trade between the Pistons and Hawks are the Memphis Grizzlies.

Tayshaun Prince makes 9.5 million dollars and Amir Johnson makes 3.66 million dollars for a total of 13.16 million dollars. The Pistons could take back as much as $16,557,500 in salaries. If Josh Smith has a starting salary of 11 million and Speedy Claxton has a salary of 5.7 million, that's 16.7 million going to the Pistons.

But the Hawks, because of Smith's BYC status, can only take back 125% + 100k of the 5.5 million(50% of Smiths BYC starting salary) plus Claxton's 5.7 million, which adds us to 11.2 million. 125% + 100k of that figure is 14.1 million. Which falls within the 13.16 million that the contracts of Amir plus Tashaun equal to.

This trade scenario could work out with a few tweaks. The question is, will Joe Dumars do what it takes to make Smith a Piston, and will the Hawks management approve of a deal that would send Smith to Detroit.

Will Dumars act before the "Western Conference power" does? A deal is possible, but difficult.

Stay tuned...

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/2008/...trade_migh.html

If the teams are LA and Detroit (what most pundits believe) whats a better deal for Atlanta?

Prince/Amir or Lamar and dumping Claxton (maybe getting Farmar or Mihm).

Right away - the fact LO is a PF and it frees up Marvin Williams to start makes me think LA has the edge however a project center like Amir may be what Atlanta craves more. In an LA deal, Atl would have more salary freedom too.

[tmac13]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/2008/...trade_migh.html

If the teams are LA and Detroit (what most pundits believe) whats a better deal for Atlanta?

Prince/Amir or Lamar and dumping Claxton (maybe getting Farmar or Mihm).

Right away - the fact LO is a PF and it frees up Marvin Williams to start makes me think LA has the edge however a project center like Amir may be what Atlanta craves more. In an LA deal, Atl would have more salary freedom too.

Can Amir play center? He is only 6'9" and 225. Thats awfully small for a 5.

[thefloydian]

Amir Johnson is fun to watch.

[thefloydian]

Can Amir play center? He is only 6'9" and 225. Thats awfully small for a 5.

Supposedly he's actually around 6'11. I'm pretty sure I read that he grew two inches after the drafted him.

I don't know if he can play center right now, but I bet he'll be able to in a few years.

[crimedog]

Supposedly he's actually around 6'11. I'm pretty sure I read that he grew two inches after the drafted him.

I don't know if he can play center right now, but I bet he'll be able to in a few years.

I'd feel more comfortable with Smith bodying up a C, Amir is a twig with a narrow frame.

Something involving Prince and Amir is decent value for Josh, I guess. I still would be less inclined to watch the team though.

[DrReality]

Does it make a difference in the trade if Smith agrees to take less from another team than he would from ATl to get out and that make it easier to work it out?????

[tmac13]

Supposedly he's actually around 6'11. I'm pretty sure I read that he grew two inches after the drafted him.

I don't know if he can play center right now, but I bet he'll be able to in a few years.

Your right..I found this from the Detroit trainer..

"In other Johnson news, A. Sherrod Blakely has an update on his official height:

Amir Johnson keeps on growing. Arnie Kander, Detroit’s strength and conditioning coach, said the 20-year-old is 6-foot-11 1/2. He was 6-9 in 2005 when the Pistons drafted him.

As we all know, his height has been a recurring topic of conversation amongst fans, but a measurement precise all the way down to half an inch has to be taken at face value, no? For those who remain unconvinced, I’ll add this: he definitely seemed to be the tallest player I spoke with at Media Day. Granted, I didn’t talk to Cheick Samb, but I was a part of the scrum surrounding Rasheed Wallace and I did talk one on one with Nazr Mohammed."

Looks like is is nearly a 7 footer. He is an outstanding athlete. This makes the Prince/Johnson trade a little more interesting.

[thefloydian]

Your right..I found this from the Detroit trainer..

"In other Johnson news, A. Sherrod Blakely has an update on his official height:

Amir Johnson keeps on growing. Arnie Kander, Detroit’s strength and conditioning coach, said the 20-year-old is 6-foot-11 1/2. He was 6-9 in 2005 when the Pistons drafted him.

As we all know, his height has been a recurring topic of conversation amongst fans, but a measurement precise all the way down to half an inch has to be taken at face value, no? For those who remain unconvinced, I’ll add this: he definitely seemed to be the tallest player I spoke with at Media Day. Granted, I didn’t talk to Cheick Samb, but I was a part of the scrum surrounding Rasheed Wallace and I did talk one on one with Nazr Mohammed."

Looks like is is nearly a 7 footer. He is an outstanding athlete. This makes the Prince/Johnson trade a little more interesting.

Honestly, if we had to trade Smith, that is the best deal I've seen mentioned. I think a lot of people are harder on it than they would be if they knew much about Johnson. He is a freakish athlete. I was at a Hawks/Pistons game this year, and Amir came in in garbage time and got something like 6 or 7 blocks in about 6 minutes.

I'm not saying I think it'd be equal value, but it'd be closer than something like Odom for Smith.

[Dragitoff]

I've only heard Denver mentioned briefly, but one thing that Sekou said in the article is it would be a "blockbuster". Now I know that term has different meanings to different folks, but that tells me we'd be getting something good back too. Would Smoove/Speedy for Melo work? Our defense would suffer since that would probably mean ZaZa would start at Center and Melo doesn't play much D, but our offense would definitely be more consistent IMO. Just a thought. Denver might throw in someone like Hunter (overpaid, but a good defensive big) to even it out if they needed to because of salaries.

[Admin]

Your right..I found this from the Detroit trainer..

"In other Johnson news, A. Sherrod Blakely has an update on his official height:

Amir Johnson keeps on growing. Arnie Kander, Detroit’s strength and conditioning coach, said the 20-year-old is 6-foot-11 1/2. He was 6-9 in 2005 when the Pistons drafted him.

As we all know, his height has been a recurring topic of conversation amongst fans, but a measurement precise all the way down to half an inch has to be taken at face value, no? For those who remain unconvinced, I’ll add this: he definitely seemed to be the tallest player I spoke with at Media Day. Granted, I didn’t talk to Cheick Samb, but I was a part of the scrum surrounding Rasheed Wallace and I did talk one on one with Nazr Mohammed."

Looks like is is nearly a 7 footer. He is an outstanding athlete. This makes the Prince/Johnson trade a little more interesting.

That settles it for me then. Johnson and Prince for Smoove and Speedy. Marvin would then become one of the best, if not the best 6th men in the league.

[tmac13]

That settles it for me then. Johnson and Prince for Smoove and Speedy. Marvin would then become one of the best, if not the best 6th men in the league.

I agree. The more I think about that deal the better I like it. We get a nice veteran 3 who plays excellent Defense and it a good clutch player and we get a young shotblocker to work into the 5. We then add Marvin ,Mo and Morris to the bench and we are young, big and deep. On top of that if its true we are signing Morris to a minimum 2 year deal we still have over 3 million left on the MLE to use on Kwame or another shooter. I like it.

Edited July 28, 2008 by tmac13

[mrhonline]

I agree. The more I think about that deal the better I like it. We get a nice veteran 3 would plays excellent Defense and it a good clutch player and we get a young shotblocker to work into the 5. We then add Marvin ,Mo and Morris to the bench and we are young, big and deep. On top of that if its true we are signing Morris to a minimum 2 year deal we still have over 3 million left on the MLE to use on Kwame or another shooter. I like it.

Plus a likely trade exception of between $2 - $3M to look at reserve PG's.

[DawsonsCreek]

That settles it for me then. Johnson and Prince for Smoove and Speedy. Marvin would then become one of the best, if not the best 6th men in the league.

If that is the deal on the table, I take that it too Dolfan. We've seen what Prince is and 13/5/3 is not bad and I think his production would go up here because clearly Det had/has more options (on the court) then we do. Smith has time to be twice the player Prince is but he's not right now and who knows if he ever will be. The real wild card (question mark) would be Amir. I've seen Det fans and management rave over this raw/talented prospect but do we have the coaching to further continue his development? I think the clincher is getting rid of Speedy's contract if that is apart of the deal. He's been hurt, but the main reason I would let him go is there just isn't anymore room + the contract. Would I be surprised if he did good things in DET? No way. Thats why I think the deal could work for everyone.

[Swish]

Guys...guys...this trade sucks. Prince is OK, and I would swap him for Marvin, but for the best defensive young big in the league after Howard????

Put down the dope, take a deep breath, and think clearly. :Shocked:

[tmac13]

Guys...guys...this trade sucks. Prince is OK, and I would swap him for Marvin, but for the best defensive young big in the league after Howard????

Put down the dope, take a deep breath, and think clearly. :Shocked:

Its the Amir Johnson part of the trade that makes it appealing for me. By all accounts he is every bit the athlete Smoove is and except 2 inches taller and a year younger. Imagine an athlete like Smoove being tall enough to man the 5? As far as Prince goes he is rock steady and a proven winner. It would appear this trade is a decent value for Smith while giving Atlanta flexibility to still improve more.