Report: Smith wanted Boston

[Chris]

I hate these stories, because they just lead to frustration, and pointless second guessing.  If Smith really wanted to play in Boston, he should have understood how desperate they were, and worked harder at getting the buyout earlier.  At the time the C's signed Moore, Smith was making it sound like he was perfectly happy in OKC, making it incredibly tough for the C's (who were desperate for some extra size) to pass on Moore.

[BballTim]

Our team is a monster, don't you realize it?

Competing with three other monsters.  Two of those competitors will improve (Cleveland and San Antonio), and two of them have better records (Cleveland and Los Angeles).

  I don't think Ben Wallace out and Smith in is an improvement.

We'll see if Wallace is out for the year.  Also, Smith improves the Cavs' offense, even if the defense declines until Wallace gets back.

  I think Wallace's defense is more valuable, and they also lose some rebounding.

[CelticsWhat35]

Smith didnt hold anyone to 43 %...its called missing shots, I do not think Joey smith is a good defender, or as good a player as you seem to believe...

Hmm...  when is the last time a "revolving door" held somebody to 43% shooting? 

as far as him making 20 of his last 29 shots against us..he shot an overall 48% in the playoffs...

Joe Smith was a huge part of why Cleveland gave us trouble in the three games Cleveland won against us in the playoffs last year.  Continue to downplay his contribution all you want, he's a good player.

and thats what stands out in my mind when his name comes up...he played KG very well.I heard  the  female announcer during the Cavs /Hawk game last night almost guarantees Smith is going to the Cavs this week.

When did Smith play KG well?  KG absolutely dominated offensively when the Cavs put Smith on him.  It was only Varejeo that gave him any kind of trouble.

[BballTim]

Smith didnt hold anyone to 43 %...its called missing shots, I do not think Joey smith is a good defender, or as good a player as you seem to believe...

Hmm...  when is the last time a "revolving door" held somebody to 43% shooting? 

as far as him making 20 of his last 29 shots against us..he shot an overall 48% in the playoffs...

Joe Smith was a huge part of why Cleveland gave us trouble in the three games Cleveland won against us in the playoffs last year.  Continue to downplay his contribution all you want, he's a good player.

  But aren't you downplaying any contributions we'll get from Marbury? Do you expect Smith to have a bigger impact in the playoffs?

[Bozo]

The other part of the issue would be:  If we got in a bidding war with Cleveland over Smith, would we have anything left to sign Marbury.   Probably not.   Is Moore + Marbury better than Smith.

And where was the real need for the team.  Ainge had said the need at the 5 was not that great.  It can be argued that the real drop off in capability was Pruit.  While we used House last year, Cleveland, and LA clearly got better.

I think Marbury, playing with the starters in the 4th quarter, will be a different, stronger team.  In the 4th, it tends to become a half court game, Rhondo's weaknesses get focused on.
I think Marbury will improve us more than a Smith.  

[pearljammer10]

Moore has a better jumper than Joe. I almost think these guys are neck and neck, overall.

No, he doesn't.  Smith shoots a higher percentage on jumpers, and shoots more jump shots overall.

Actually Mikki Moore is a carrer 55% from the field with a high of 61% in 2006-2007... Smith is a career 45% shooter with a high of only a 51% in 04-05... Also Mikki is coming off the best 2 shooting seasons of his career at 61% in 06-07 and 58% in 07-08 where Joe Smith has only played in a combined 63 games over the past two seasons and Mikki has played all but 3 games.

Also in the playoffs Mikki has shot 59% from the field where Joe Smith has only shot 50%...

Based on stats, again, Id rather have Mikki. The op said they are almost neck and neck...I give the advantage to Mikki.

[Roy Hobbs]

Moore has a better jumper than Joe. I almost think these guys are neck and neck, overall.

No, he doesn't.  Smith shoots a higher percentage on jumpers, and shoots more jump shots overall.

Actually Mikki Moore is a carrer 55% from the field with a high of 61% in 2006-2007... Smith is a career 45% shooter with a high of only a 51% in 04-05... Also Mikki is coming off the best 2 shooting seasons of his career at 61% in 06-07 and 58% in 07-08 where Joe Smith has only played in a combined 63 games over the past two seasons and Mikki has played all but 3 games.

Also in the playoffs Mikki has shot 59% from the field where Joe Smith has only shot 50%...

Based on stats, again, Id rather have Mikki. The op said they are almost neck and neck...I give the advantage to Mikki.

On jumpers, not overall.  Moore gets more shots under the basket.

[winsomme]

Smith didnt hold anyone to 43 %...its called missing shots, I do not think Joey smith is a good defender, or as good a player as you seem to believe...

Hmm...  when is the last time a "revolving door" held somebody to 43% shooting? 

as far as him making 20 of his last 29 shots against us..he shot an overall 48% in the playoffs...

Joe Smith was a huge part of why Cleveland gave us trouble in the three games Cleveland won against us in the playoffs last year.  Continue to downplay his contribution all you want, he's a good player.

  But aren't you downplaying any contributions we'll get from Marbury? Do you expect Smith to have a bigger impact in the playoffs?

That's the hope at this point , BBall. We need a big impact from Mar.

the problem, however, is he can't guard SFs (eg Brandon Rush) and he can't guard nasty bigs.

we have two clear holes at this point and Mar can't fill them.....

I'm not too excited about losing a guy like Pruitt because i think he has skills, but i do think we are going to need more additions to this bench in order to repeat as champs....

[Jon]

I'd cut Pruitt and make a push for Smith or Gooden.  Pruitt is of no use this year with Marbury here.  Furthermore, he's proven just about nothing at this point and will likely be available this summer as a FA if Ainge really wants him back. 

[BudweiserCeltic]

Pruitt is currently our weakest player.

[winsomme]

Pruitt is currently our weakest player.

Mar definitely made Pruitt expendable, but i would think if he got cut it would be to go after a wing like Wells.

I just don't see Danny screwing over Moore like that.

[paintitgreen]

I would agree that Marbury and Moore is better than just Smith. I'm still hopeful that the Marbury thing will work out better when he gets some reps in. I would also agree that if Smith would come if we cut Pruitt, I'd cut Pruitt now. But, would he do that? He'd be entering a situation where he'd be competing with maybe 4 other bigs - Moore, Powe, Davis, Scal - for backup minutes behind KG and Perk. Why not just go to Cleveland where he'd only compete with an oft-injured Z, a currently injured Wallace, Varejao and the rookie Hickson? He could play a bigger role on a team that seems just as poised to win. Plus, Cleveland can offer him significantly more money.

I would strongly prefer Smith over just Moore, if it's a one-for-one thing, but I also agree that you can't renege on Moore, and it looks like it's the money that went to Marbury, rather than the roster space to Moore, that would prevent Smith from joining us(Cleveland apparently will offer $1.5 million, prorated from their available $3.5 mil MLE, to Smith; I think we used up our remaining MLE money to get Marbury).

When we picked up Moore, I didn't mind it all and I don't hate his game, though I think Smith would give us more. My only hope was that Smith would not land in Cleveland, that OKC would hold onto him through the season. I still hope San Antonio can work it out (hopefully Presti made a shady move, telling Smith he would be bought out only if he agreed to go to Presti's old bosses in San Antonio instead of Cleveland) because I think he'd be a big boost to a Cleveland team that doesn't need many more boosts.

He's not coming here, bottom line, and the fact is, we won't know whether Ainge made any mistakes in this for another few months. I would've probably done things differently, but there's a reason Ainge, not me, is the GM of the defending champs.

[winsomme]

I hate these stories, because they just lead to frustration, and pointless second guessing.  If Smith really wanted to play in Boston, he should have understood how desperate they were, and worked harder at getting the buyout earlier.  At the time the C's signed Moore, Smith was making it sound like he was perfectly happy in OKC, making it incredibly tough for the C's (who were desperate for some extra size) to pass on Moore.

Personally, I think Presti was the problem...He wasn't bending over to make this buyout happen.

[Scalablob990]

Pruitt is currently our weakest player.

Mar definitely made Pruitt expendable, but i would think if he got cut it would be to go after a wing like Wells.

I just don't see Danny screwing over Moore like that.

Moore seems to love being here already, cutting him or Starbury would seem ***k to do. If Smith wanted to go to Boston so bad he shouldn't have been so humble and expressed it more like Marbury did. Right now though, I don't think i'd cut moore since the second unit, even though it's not functioning for ***t looks like in a month or two it's going to be a powerhouse. Marbury avg's 19 and 8 for his career avg the man is an all star and starter material (not saying he should start in Boston don't get confused). This can only bode well for us in the long run.

[cordobes]

I hate these stories, because they just lead to frustration, and pointless second guessing.  If Smith really wanted to play in Boston, he should have understood how desperate they were, and worked harder at getting the buyout earlier.  At the time the C's signed Moore, Smith was making it sound like he was perfectly happy in OKC, making it incredibly tough for the C's (who were desperate for some extra size) to pass on Moore.

Really? Was Ainge desperate? Certainly, but it's his own fault, not Smith's. Ainge was desperate because of his dumb decision to sign Patrick O'Bryant (considering the remaining additions - Tony Allen, Cassell, the 2 rookies, i.e., not enough quality on the bench). Had the C's signed another player and not this (alleged) low risk signing, like, say, Skinner (equal salary to POB), we wouldn't be that desperate. At least, not enough to pull the trigger so soon on the backup big man - we would certainly be able to wait and see if someone better would become available.

The off-season decisions lead to the fact that now Ainge didn't have the luxury of waiting. At least, I hope he learns the dangers of this lesson.

What costs me more is that we could have stealed Smith from Cleveland - and there's no way they would sign Gooden, because he and LeBron aren't even on talking terms (DeShawn Stevenson affair). And I have the feeling many are undervaluing the importance of Smith to Cleveland, especially with Ben Wallace out.

I'm very doubtful that the Cavs could win the title without this addition. Their frontline would be too thin and they can't afford to play LeBron many minutes at the 4. I doubt they'd be able to beat Orlando, I doubt they'd be able to beat Boston and I think their chances of beating the LA would be residual. Now, they're a legit contender again.