Josh Smith rumor / Atlanta interested?

[PAOBoston]

in a cold, calculating world, DA trades pierce for smith b/c it makes the most sense. pierce plays the 3 and can be that veteran, clutch go-to guy, johnson the 2 and #2 fiddle on the team, and horford can slide into the 4 spot which would seem to suit him better. boston gets smith while unloading it biggest contract (in terms of $$$ and years after this season) while still keeping allen and kg's expiring deals which could then be traded for even more assets.

personally,i'm in the "c's cant compete as currently constituted camp." i'd rather get something back for these expiring deals than just let all these guys go for nothing. playing the free agency game in 2012 scares the crap out of me considering there is no guarantee that 1. howard is even there, and 2. howard is even remotely interested in playing in boston with rondo/scraps.

trading one of kg or allen might sting b/c it seems everyone (including me) has grown a sense of affection and kinship to these group of c's for making them relevant again for the first time since the 1980's really. BUT, is taking that risk and keeping the trio together for one final run, even though the chances of landing an impact FA in 2012 are slim, worth it? if the c's strike out on fa's (which based on history, chances are they will), the c's are gonna be irrelevant for the next decade.

i'd have a tough time passing up an offer for a 25 year old athletic pf so for an aging (former) star.

[GreenEnvy]

in a cold, calculating world, DA trades pierce for smith b/c it makes the most sense. pierce plays the 3 and can be that veteran, clutch go-to guy, johnson the 2 and #2 fiddle on the team, and horford can slide into the 4 spot which would seem to suit him better. boston gets smith while unloading it biggest contract (in terms of $$$ and years after this season) while still keeping allen and kg's expiring deals which could then be traded for even more assets.

personally,i'm in the "c's cant compete as currently constituted camp." i'd rather get something back for these expiring deals than just let all these guys go for nothing. playing the free agency game in 2012 scares the crap out of me considering there is no guarantee that 1. howard is even there, and 2. howard is even remotely interested in playing in boston with rondo/scraps.

trading one of kg or allen might sting b/c it seems everyone (including me) has grown a sense of affection and kinship to these group of c's for making them relevant again for the first time since the 1980's really. BUT, is taking that risk and keeping the trio together for one final run, even though the chances of landing an impact FA in 2012 are slim, worth it? if the c's strike out on fa's (which based on history, chances are they will), the c's are gonna be irrelevant for the next decade.

i'd have a tough time passing up an offer for a 25 year old athletic pf so for an aging (former) star.

What makes the Big Three so special is there chemistry. We saw how chemistry may have effected the team down the stretch and into the playoffs.

It's possible we could be more talented by trading one of the Big Three for Smith, but he doesn't compliment any of them nearly as well as who he would replace. He can't run the offense like Pierce, he can't defend/rebound like Garnett, and he definitely can't fire off shots like Ray.

I like him, but I don't even know if I'd trade Green + fillers for him. Green is a much more gifted offense player IMO, and has the potential to be a very good defender (albeit not as flashy with the swats into the stands) and average rebounder.


Thinking about it, even if it guaranteed Howard, is that a trio you really want? They are all pretty awful shooters, especially at the stripe. They are all very athletic and defensive studs, but I could see the halfcourt offense being more stagnant than it is now and woeful crunch-time FT shooting from our most athletic players.

[adrew35]

If we get Smith and keep KG, then it would be sad to see KG as our Center next season lol.

[gt911pr2]

I dont know about you guys, but it would break my heart to see KG or Ray go. I would be very open to the idea of doing some sort of sign and trade deal to send baby,green, 1st rounder this and next year (keep top 10 protected from clippers) to Atlanta for josh smith.

That opens up our MLE alot since we dont have to worry as much about our frontcourt (keywords:as much) and focus on getting a solid swingman backup for ray/pierce. Lets not forget this is one of the deepest F.A classes for Small forwards in a while (Tayshaun prince anyone?) How about trying to get Vince carter now that he's gonna be bought out by the suns, not a full mle but for 2 mill id take a chance to have a bench of: Delonte, Avery, Vince, Troy Murphy(if resigns), J.O and another signee for the rest of the MLE. Then maybe sign a guy like Reggie Evans to the LLE (averaged 11 boards playing as a role player)

Cap space? Well we wouldnt have much of a difference in salary cap seeing how much both Jeff Green and Baby would command, and with a lineup of Rondo,Ray,Pierce,Josh Smith and KG, that could definetly attract a certain Center free-agent-to-be in Orlando.

Next year KG's contract is up, and having the possibility of Dwight Howard and Josh Smith in the frontcourt could give KG the perfect opprotunity to come off the bench as a sixth man next year for a much smaller contract.

In anycase Danny, get this done, this could make us completely skip a rebuilding phase post big 3 era.