The deal with Joe Smith?

[y2kenta]

Does he want to sign here or what? Why are we waiting and missing out on other talented bigs?

The guy was in town last week and Hawks expressed plenty of interest, so why hasn't he signed yet? Did I miss something? There are still a few guys out there that are younger, more hungry, and (a couple are) equally/more talented. There still free agents out there that can come in contribute solid minutes up front like:

+ Pops Mensuh-Bonsu - a tough, strong, high energy, "will not fail" rebounder who defends aggresively and runs the floor

+ Ryan Hollins - tall, athletic young guy with very long arms that plays with energy and contest a lot of shots

+ Hakim Warrick - another very athletic long-arm guy, but with a decent offensive game (still improving)

I mean come on, we missed out on Wilcox, Gooden, Bass, and McDyess (albeit mostly because of money) but we only need to add one these guys to compliment Zaza and then add G. Siler and (hopefully Mario West) to fill out main roster...And that would leave maybe 1-2 spots for training camp guys to make the squad...

Edited July 28, 2009 by y2kenta

[Vol4ever]

If we do not bring a vet big in there will be a first round exit in the playoffs,

[DrReality]

If we do not bring a vet big in there will be a first round exit in the playoffs,

Tend to agree from a couple of different stand points: One is that Woody wears down guys with too many minutes and the other is a lack of leadership was evident when we got to the playoffs. We looked lost and I think a guy like Smith would make a difference. JJ needs help.

[GameTime]

If we do not bring a vet big in there will be a first round exit in the playoffs,

Vet Bigs available:

Joe Smith

Brian Skinner

Mikki Moore

Michael Ruffin

Malik Allen

Malik Rose

Juwan Howard

Francisco Elson

Melvin Ely

Maceo Baston

Sean Marks

Raef LaFrentz

Ryan Bowen

Mark Blount

Jason Collins

Jarron Collins

Adonal Foyle

Jake Voskuhl

Lorenzen Wright

Donyell Marshall

Edited July 28, 2009 by GameTime

[Peoriabird]

Vet Bigs available:

Joe Smith

Brian Skinner

Mikki Moore

Michael Ruffin

Malik Allen

Malik Rose

Juwan Howard

Francisco Elson

Melvin Ely

Maceo Baston

Sean Marks

Raef LaFrentz

Ryan Bowen

Mark Blount

Jason Collins

Jarron Collins

Adonal Foyle

Jake Voskuhl

Lorenzen Wright

Donyell Marshall

In other words Nobody except Joe Smith is available to help our front court

[gutz]

In other words Nobody except Joe Smith is available to help our front court

Exactly! All those guys are bums you listed above. We MUST sign Joe Smith period! He is the vet big we need so desperately.

[Brotha2ThaNite]

GOOODDDDDDANG! I THOUGHT WE HAD SIGNED JOE SMITH :computer8:

[coachx]

If we lose out on Joe Smith I would be more then happy with Elson or Skinner as our 4th big.

Skinner is a bruiser. He would be great to have in 7 game playoff series. Elson has loads of playoff expierence and plays tough in the paint.

Smith is more skilled then both of them so he is definately the first choice.

After them a guy like Ely would be nice.

[jaywalker72]

The reason why is all about $$$

We want him on the cheap, likely around the same type deal Mo Evans signed last season.

[gutz]

The reason why is all about $$$

We want him on the cheap, likely around the same type deal Mo Evans signed last season.

Yeah but didn't MO Evans sign like a 2 or 3 yr deal worth 7.5million? 2+mil a year is more than enough for an aging Joe Smith. He isn't going to get much more than that from anyone else. I mean Gooden and Wilcox got a 1 or 2 mil more a year but they are also NOT 34yrs old like Smith.

[DrReality]

I can remember in the not too distant past when we got down to the last couple of spots we talked to Pig Miller or Lonnie ??? Who were some of the other losers we signed?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

A Hawk scrub from the recent past: Obinna Ekezie ( fo-sheezy )

* 6-9 . . 270 lb center from Maryland --- I believe he and Joe Smith were teammates back in the late 90s.

* Played on the 2004 - 05 Hawks team that won 13 games . . his last NBA team he played on

* Wow . . . he actually started in 31 games

* Stats:

5.5 pts

4.3 rebs

43% FG

77% FT

17 min a game

I remembered his name, because I actually saw him on CNBC Sunday night, on their special about how Africa could benefit from the global recession. Ekezie owns a travel website that tries to get people to visit African tourist cities/destinations. I think it's called ZEEP.

Having said that, this Joe Smith talk is getting a little extreme. I know we need a few more big bodies, but . . . . this is Joe Smith we're talking about . . . not Luis Scola. Joe is technically a bum himself. And he's definitely not the difference in us competing for a top 3 spot in the East.

Yeah, it would be nice to add Joe to the squad, but not at an inflated price, and DEFINITELY not for a 3 year deal. I'm even leery about giving him a 2 year deal, seeing that it will potentially take away possible money that we should give to JJ in 2010.

If Horford or Smoove gets hurt, Joe isn't going to step in and keep us afloat. We're still are going to miss Al or Josh tremendously. It's Joe friggin Smith we're talking about

When Woody talks about adding BIGS, he means big bodies like Zaza. It wouldn't surprise me if we add 2 big scrub centers for one year minimum dealss, if we miss out on Smith.

[Admin]

When Woody talks about adding BIGS, he means big bodies like Zaza. It wouldn't surprise me if we add 2 big scrub centers for one year minimum dealss, if we miss out on Smith.

Where are you getting that from? I don't think that's the case at all, otherwise we wouldn't have been going after Dice, Rasheed, and now Joe Smith who are all PF bigs. Especially considering how the point has been made this off-season about how involved Woody has been with Sund and the decisions being made.

What worries me is that I believe we're looking at 2, possibly 3 bigs to add to the team based on Woody's statements and that means that they'll each be 2 million or less players which means guys like Swift, Petro, etc. rather than guys like Gooden, Smith, etc.

[sturt]

Someone mentioned this on Peachtree Hoops (and perhaps here already but if so it avoided my attention)... that, if we acquire Joe Smith, it will be interesting to see how often media types screw up identifying Joe Smith, Josh Smith, and Joe Johnson. And, it occurs to me that we need to scour the NBDL at some point in the season after an injury, and try to find a Josh Johnson who could fill a roster slot.