Report: Smith wanted Boston

[pearljammer10]

Moore is the best option by a long shot. He is a true center, something we haven't had on the bench for a long time. The reason Mikki was brought in was because of his height and ability to play in the middle. Joe Smith or Skinner or Gooden would have just brought us another clone of BBD, Powe, and Scal.

[SalmonAndMashedPotatoes]

Can we change the title to this thread? Put it in quotes, or something?

Until I hear directly from Smith that he wanted to come here, I have a hard time believing it. He played things very coy in the time following the rescinded Chandler trade; if he wanted to be here, he'd have been less equivocal about it.

What Lucky17 said.  This thread is an exercise in what if and nothing more and excuse me if discussing the infinitude of alternate realities seems pointless.  These points have probably been made elsewhere, but just to summarize my feelings.

--If Joe Smith wanted so badly to play for the Cs, he would have started buyout discussions after the trading deadline.  He didn't and so I don't believe it.
--Isn't just a little coincidental that right after Ben Wallace breaks a leg, Joe Smith suddenly decides he wants to discuss a buyout.  Again, if Joe Smith wanted to come to Boston 'as his first choice,' the timing of the buyout discussions probably wouldn't have come down the way they did.
--Don't forget the money.  It's kinda slipped under the radar, but Marbury was signed for 1.3 million, about half of what we have left under the MLE.  Isn't it possible that Danny did communicate with Joe Smith's people, and they communicated to him that he wanted Boston's entire MLE to sign with Boston and that all other things being equal, Boston 'was his first choice' provided they spend the entirety of their remaining MLE on him?  And when they said they wouldn't because they were going to use part of that money to sign a better player--Marbury--it was then that Joe Smith suddenly wanted to remain with the Thunder.
--Isn't it then possible, after Danny knew of Smith's money demands, that he decided to go with Mikki Moore instead, considering that Smith had priced him out the Cs plans, his declaration of 'wanting' Boston notwithstanding? 
--As for David Aldridge being the bastion of objective reporting, ummm, forgive me if I'm skeptical.  He's a reporter and he writes what he gets fed.  For all we know, he's angry that Danny didn't return his calls regarding Aldridge's vague, business-ignorant non-story about the league's decision to provide a line of credit to its teams and now he's eager to write how Boston was Smith's first choice. 

 

[cornbreadsmart]

come on. it's obvious he did'nt wanna come here that much. smart move by danny to grab someone.i'll take mikki over nothing. joe wants to be a cav. this is our team. we really should'nt buy into this. come on. it's obviously b.s.

[cornbreadsmart]

joe smith is the better player. it's not close with mikki but i'm not the least bit surprised with this form smith. he's the opposite. no fire.come on guys. don't buy into this. the national media absolutely hates us.this is what they want.

[nickagneta]

Can we change the title to this thread? Put it in quotes, or something?

Until I hear directly from Smith that he wanted to come here, I have a hard time believing it. He played things very coy in the time following the rescinded Chandler trade; if he wanted to be here, he'd have been less equivocal about it.

What Lucky17 said.  This thread is an exercise in what if and nothing more and excuse me if discussing the infinitude of alternate realities seems pointless.  These points have probably been made elsewhere, but just to summarize my feelings.

--If Joe Smith wanted so badly to play for the Cs, he would have started buyout discussions after the trading deadline.  He didn't and so I don't believe it.
--Isn't just a little coincidental that right after Ben Wallace breaks a leg, Joe Smith suddenly decides he wants to discuss a buyout.  Again, if Joe Smith wanted to come to Boston 'as his first choice,' the timing of the buyout discussions probably wouldn't have come down the way they did.
--Don't forget the money.  It's kinda slipped under the radar, but Marbury was signed for 1.3 million, about half of what we have left under the MLE.  Isn't it possible that Danny did communicate with Joe Smith's people, and they communicated to him that he wanted Boston's entire MLE to sign with Boston and that all other things being equal, Boston 'was his first choice' provided they spend the entirety of their remaining MLE on him?  And when they said they wouldn't because they were going to use part of that money to sign a better player--Marbury--it was then that Joe Smith suddenly wanted to remain with the Thunder.
--Isn't it then possible, after Danny knew of Smith's money demands, that he decided to go with Mikki Moore instead, considering that Smith had priced him out the Cs plans, his declaration of 'wanting' Boston notwithstanding? 
--As for David Aldridge being the bastion of objective reporting, ummm, forgive me if I'm skeptical.  He's a reporter and he writes what he gets fed.  For all we know, he's angry that Danny didn't return his calls regarding Aldridge's vague, business-ignorant non-story about the league's decision to provide a line of credit to its teams and now he's eager to write how Boston was Smith's first choice. 

 

As much as I agre 100% with you I see one flaw. The C's could have given Marbury the $1.3 million from the LLE and still had the entire remaining MLE put aside for Smith if they had gotten any indication that Smith really wanted to come here. That they didn't do it that way only reinforces exactly what you were saying.

This is all just PR being put out by Smith agent because he will be a free agent after the playoff season and he doesn't want to close any doors for opportunity for future contracts. It's fairly obvious that Cleveland doesn't picture Smith as a long term fit. They traded him away once already in favor of Varejao and Hickson. So he states that he wanted to go to the Celtics all along after the Celtics have made their move to keep open the possibility of signing with Boston in the off season.

The guy doesn't want to burn any bridges and is handling it very intelligently using the press as proof later on in his discussions with Ainge in the off season.

[Big_Dave31]

I just saw a thread in RealGM saying that Steven A Smith was reporting that Joe Smith is going to sign with Boston?  How is that going to work?
It has to be a lie, unfortunately, I do not have a link or anything, I'm merely just passing on what I read.

[xmuscularghandix]

I just saw a thread in RealGM saying that Steven A Smith was reporting that Joe Smith is going to sign with Boston?  How is that going to work?
It has to be a lie, unfortunately, I do not have a link or anything, I'm merely just passing on what I read.

well if scal was out for the season...

[cordobes]

Joe Smith never played another minute for OKC after the trade deadline. It was immediately reported that he was seeking a buyout.

Yeah, he made the formal statements saying he was good there and all that jazz. His Coach returned the compliment. And both parts were obviously trying to get the best deal possible.

But have people really thought that Smith wasn't playing because he had lost his rotation spot? The idea that some people are really this naif makes me smile.

[crownsy]

I just saw a thread in RealGM saying that Steven A Smith was reporting that Joe Smith is going to sign with Boston?  How is that going to work?
It has to be a lie, unfortunately, I do not have a link or anything, I'm merely just passing on what I read.

well if scal was out for the season...

yea, i dont really think the celtics would be opposed to cutting JR or pruitt to make room for smith if scal is gone an extended period of time...which unfortunately seems likely

[Roy Hobbs]

Rivers said the C’s might still make a pitch for Smith, but Danny Ainge said that wasn’t going to happen.

“We thought he would get bought out,” Rivers said. “We just didn’t know for sure. We fully believed that eventually they would work it out. We just couldn’t take the gamble waiting.”

So, it seems as though the team had a pretty good chance that this was going to happen.  As many have said all along, the team should have waited.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Rivers said the C’s might still make a pitch for Smith, but Danny Ainge said that wasn’t going to happen.

“We thought he would get bought out,” Rivers said. “We just didn’t know for sure. We fully believed that eventually they would work it out. We just couldn’t take the gamble waiting.”

So, it seems as though the team had a pretty good chance that this was going to happen.  As many have said all along, the team should have waited.

Would waiting guarantee that Smith would come here? I really can't envision him picking us over the Cavs, especially once Wallace went down.

[winsomme]

Rivers said the C’s might still make a pitch for Smith, but Danny Ainge said that wasn’t going to happen.

“We thought he would get bought out,” Rivers said. “We just didn’t know for sure. We fully believed that eventually they would work it out. We just couldn’t take the gamble waiting.”

So, it seems as though the team had a pretty good chance that this was going to happen.  As many have said all along, the team should have waited.

yeah, the question now is how much of d- move is it to still go after him?

i don't know. I really think the combo of getting Smith and keeping him away from the Cavs could be a real difference maker....but i just don't feel good about being the bad guy here.

where do you come down on still going after Smith, Roy?

[CelticsWhat35]

Rivers said the C’s might still make a pitch for Smith, but Danny Ainge said that wasn’t going to happen.

“We thought he would get bought out,” Rivers said. “We just didn’t know for sure. We fully believed that eventually they would work it out. We just couldn’t take the gamble waiting.”

So, it seems as though the team had a pretty good chance that this was going to happen.  As many have said all along, the team should have waited.

Well the Spurs waited and didn't sign anyone, but reports were that they had no chance of signing Smith either, since the Cavs have $3.5 million left of there MLE.

People need to realize the difference between the right decision and what would work best for the team.  Sure, Joe Smith would've been a better fit for the Celtics.  But there were too many variables going against them.  1.) He hadn't been bought out yet.  While it seemed pretty likely that he eventually would, it was also even more likely that Moore would be gone by the time that either did or didn't happen 2.) Smith is familiar with the Cavs system.  People can talk about how Smith is friends with KG, but that really doesn't mean much.  There are a lot of friends around the league that don't play together.  At this point in a veteran's career, they like to play where they're comfortable and have a chance at a ring.  3.)  And by far the most important, the Cavs had more money to offer Smith than the Celtics or any other contender.

When you factor in all those variables, it would've been foolish for Danny to hold off on signing Moore and letting him walk to the Mavs, Suns or any other team interested in him.

[winsomme]

Rivers said the C’s might still make a pitch for Smith, but Danny Ainge said that wasn’t going to happen.

“We thought he would get bought out,” Rivers said. “We just didn’t know for sure. We fully believed that eventually they would work it out. We just couldn’t take the gamble waiting.”

So, it seems as though the team had a pretty good chance that this was going to happen.  As many have said all along, the team should have waited.

Well the Spurs waited and didn't sign anyone, but reports were that they had no chance of signing Smith either, since the Cavs have $3.5 million left of there MLE.

People need to realize the difference between the right decision and what would work best for the team.  Sure, Joe Smith would've been a better fit for the Celtics.  But there were too many variables going against them.  1.) He hadn't been bought out yet.  While it seemed pretty likely that he eventually would, it was also even more likely that Moore would be gone by the time that either did or didn't happen 2.) Smith is familiar with the Cavs system.  People can talk about how Smith is friends with KG, but that really doesn't mean much.  There are a lot of friends around the league that don't play together.  At this point in a veteran's career, they like to play where they're comfortable and have a chance at a ring.  3.)  And by far the most important, the Cavs had more money to offer Smith than the Celtics or any other contender.

When you factor in all those variables, it would've been foolish for Danny to hold off on signing Moore and letting him walk to the Mavs, Suns or any other team interested in him.

yeah, but like Doc said today, the reason to not wait was a chance that he wouldn't be bought out.

the chances of him not getting bought out were negligible. He already wasn't playing. He was out of the rotation on  team going absolutely nowhere this season. what possible reason would OKC have to not save money by buying him out?

if you can get to that point, then consider that Smith wanted to come here....

I don't know. I just don't see the big gamble.

[CoachBo]

Neither do I. Moore doesn't bring that much to the table.