Mavs & Suns reportedly going hard after Smoove

[MaceCase]

Josh has said that he thinks he's worth the MAX. Would Josh feel "insulted" if he received less than a MAX offer from the Hawks. Would a 5 - 75 mill deal from the Hawks be a "slap in the face" to Josh? He'd make less money in those first 4 years in ATL, than he would somewhere else, but he'd make it up in the final year.

I do enjoy this strawman but I have to ask, why exactly are the Hawks forced to sign Josh to the max? Because he said so? Who cares what he wants, the market will dictate his price and if he doesn't like it from the Hawks, tough. They can walk away and have the available assets to more than replace him. They are not held over a barrel like Joe did.

The team that has Mayo now, definitely has the advantage to re-sign him, even without the Bird Rights. Mayo may be comfortable in the city ( or on the team ) he's currently playing on. Mayo coming to a playoff level team may entice he and Marion to stick around for a while. It would be totally different if we were out of the playoff hunt.

Also remember . . these are the Hawks. Despite Danny Ferry making big moves last summer with the roster shakeup, the fact remains that big time free agents have traditionally NOT come to play for the Hawks. We'll see if Ferry changes that this summer.

No, the team that will offer him the most money will have the advantage in keeping him and how much exactly do you think that will be, hmmmm? You have this fear of Josh and his contract demands but then a player like Mayo who has just as many if not more holes to their game is all beautiful? Why? Because he's being allowed to chuck away on a lotto team in a massive outlier season? Think a 25 year old on the verge of his first big contract is picking the comfort of playing in a city he's been in for 3 months over maximizing his bank account? Sure.

I guess the same bias that leads to believing that Josh is this max hungry devil also leads to belief that other guys are just looking for "comfort".

"Cap Space" is the new center. Remember, that's why we have the cap space . . . to add high quality free agents to the squad. Horford replaces Josh at PF, not SF and replaces just about all of his production. Marion strengthens the SF position, whether he starts or comes off the bench. He's also a guy you can play in a smallish lineup at PF. And "Cap Space" hopefully plays at a high enough level to have us not miss Josh one bit on the frontline.

Funny how you don't mention how getting rid of a player with a 94 offensive rating, and replacing him with a player with a 109 offensive rating, might help the offense. No more untimely turnovers and 3 pointers. No more lack of offensive rebounding. No more of the PF acting like the PG, being all in the video . . all on the record . . . dancing.

What am I failing to mention? You are the champion of 82games PER vs Opponent PER yet when someone else uses it they are now hiding something? Marion is a roleplayer that excels at playing his role but at SF he is not superior to Josh according to the stat. He doesn't allow Al to play PF considering that he spends the majority of his time there himself and doesn't manage to space the floor or defend wings better than Josh so where is this fantasy that by default Al slides down?

Teague can do very little to control the team, if the PF in question gets a rebound and charges up the court himself, with the PG standing right beside him. Eliminate that element from the team, and Teague gets more control over the offense by default.

So I'm to believe that Josh brings down 40 rebounds a game and initiates the offense each and every time? I thought he sucked at rebounding? So Jeffrey receiving the actual 3-4 extra possessions a game where this actually happens and that it's to the detriment of the team is all the difference for him to have total control. Love it.

Whew . . . good thing we're not a "bad team" . . just a struggling one, with the erratic play of the PF being one of the reasons why we're struggling lately. So Shawn shouldn't have much of an issue staying in ATL. He and Mayo could get us right back on track.

But if the worst case scenario is trading Josh for 2 free agents, that's better than being locked into Josh for 5 years at the Max . . or close to the Max . . when you know that he's not going to change as a player. And if he's not going to change as a player, we need to bring in people who can play the right way to help the team.

Right.....so let's overlook summer 2013 when there will be massive overhaul to the Hawks. This won't make Marion nervous at all when he's looking at Al, Louis and Jenkins as the only signed players and the great Northcyde telling him over and over again that no one want's to sign in Atlanta. In your brash shortsighted trades you always seem to omit the fact that this is a transition season with over half the roster on expirings yet you want to go all in for some reason. And again, you are continuing with this boogeyman argument that the Hawks are somehow obligated to resign Josh and at a massive amount.

Ah, I get the horrible trade ideas now! You just want to see him waived tomorrow so you can stop having these horrible nightmares of him smilling at a presser in Phillips come July.

If Marion and Mayo are all of a sudden thrown on a playoff team, instead of a team that virtually has no shot of making the playoffs out West, maybe . . just maybe . . they might like it here and want to stay a few years. 2 quality players for the same price as a MAXED out Josh Smith, is a good deal in my opinion.

Hawks are 8 - 13 in our last 21 games, with Boston and Milwaukee breathing down our necks for our 6th seed. Schedule will continue to be tougher from here on out.

Wait.....so on one hand you are arguing that the Hawks are playoff caliber and this might convince the duo to stay yet on the other hand you are mentioning the team is dropping like a rock......wow. Again, Josh is demanding the max but Mayo won't be looking for anything similar in your mind? Josh's max next season is about ~16 mil yet Marion (who is already on the hook for 9 mil) and Mayo will combine for an equal amount.... Are you as sure about that as you were Gay not getting traded for cap purposes?

The trade is useless only to the lovers of Smith who don't want to see him go anywhere, despite the way he plays. The Joe Johnson era is over. But the same problems with this team persists. That means it's time to end the era of the team's 2nd most influential player, add a different mix of players, and see if things can change around here.

LMAO at calling me a Josh lover. How bout this, maybe you are just a scorned Joe lover that wants to see Josh gone just out of spite

It doesn't solve the frontcourt size issue, it doesn't offer a better SG than what the team already has/had but oh, it swaps Josh out, get it done.

[yungsta]

Exactly how I feel about you Josh lovers. All these seasons and you still want this idiot on our team for 14 mill a season? And then you go around bashing trade ideas that include other much cheaper players with actual brains and easily defined skill sets that most importantly do not kill our cap. Bottom line is nobody is offering us anything good because Josh isn't worth anything good. Laughing at all those expecting a quality starting center or other flagship talent for Josh.

What the hell are you talking about I am probably 1 of the biggest supporters of getting smoove off the team by any means by either trade or letting him walk in the offseason and I have preached that smoove trade value is extremely low and I would get rid of him for a few late 1st round picks or some young talent on a rookie contract.

Know what the hell you are talking about b4 you start saying shit.

[TheFuzz]

If we really want OJ, we can offer him a fair contract this summer. He's probably going to go to whoever offers him the most money, so hopefully we don't overpay him.

If we're dead-set on trading Josh and having Mayo on the team, why not trade Josh for some long-term pieces and then sign Mayo? I don't like Mayo, I admit. But if we're going to acquire him it seems to make sense to just use some of that cap-space we're so proud of on him.

And yes, IMO Mayo is pretty much a suped up Lou Will. Mayo's percentages are leveling out to his career stats and he plays more minutes than Lou did. I said Mayo is "not that much better." I stand by that. Mayo's putting up stats on a lotto team, and he's not an all-star.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

What the hell are you talking about I am probably 1 of the biggest supporters of getting smoove off the team by any means by either trade or letting him walk in the offseason and I have preached that smoove trade value is extremely low and I would get rid of him for a few late 1st round picks or some young talent on a rookie contract.Know what the hell you are talking about b4 you start saying shit.

I believe he was agreeing with you, not saying you were a "Josh lover". I can see by the way it is phrase that it could be misleading. Replace "you" with "them" & "they" and I believe that clears up what he was saying.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited February 11, 2013 by PSSSHHHRRR87

[Ruckus]

There is a lot of who not to go after. But who should we go after then? That's what I want to hear.And plz keep Dwight and Paul out of it. Sure we will go hard after Dwight but that isn't likely. So who???

[TheFuzz]

There is a lot of who not to go after. But who should we go after then? That's what I want to hear. And plz keep Dwight and Paul out of it. Sure we will go hard after Dwight but that isn't likely. So who???

I've posted something really similar before, but if we trade Josh and don't get Dwight/Paul, I'd resign Teague/Korver/Zaza/Ivan (in that order) to nice deals. Hopefully we get a lotto pick in a Josh trade. For the sake of argument, let's say we trade Josh for Marion plus Dallas's pick, we'd have something like...

Teague (7mil)

Jenkins (1.5mil)/ Lou (5mil)

Marion (9mil) / Korver (5mil)

Horford (12mil) / Ivan (2mil)/ Scott (.5mil)

Zaza (5mil)

That's 9 players at a 47 million or so payroll. Throw in 2-3 first rounders, 2 2nd rounders, we're around 55 million tops. That's under the cap so we can receive more salary in trades and pick up amnestied players, it makes the playoffs, and it's loaded with assets. Marion expires after next year. If virtually anybody becomes available, we'll be right there to snap them up.

I'd much rather have the above than hand players like Al Jeff or Mayo a big contract. I'd like handing one of those guys a contract if we were already a contender, but we're not quite. I'm also not totally on the trade Josh bandwagon.

Edited February 11, 2013 by TheFuzz

[Bahamut]

Another thread title that sounds dirty, but not as bad as the "filling two holes" one.

That being said, I think Josh and Dwight end up in Big D.

[macdaddy]

Another thread title that sounds dirty, but not as bad as the "filling two holes" one.

That being said, I think Josh and Dwight end up in Big D.

Sounds like it will take a 3 way to make that happen.

[Bahamut]

Sounds like it will take a 3 way to make that happen.

Ferry reportedly is looking for a player that hits the middle hard, but still has a good stroke from the outside.

[macdaddy]

Ferry reportedly is looking for a player that hits the middle hard, but still has a good stroke from the outside.

this is spinning out of control quickly!

[Guest]

Haha love it love it...