Josh Smith available

[kozlodoev]

Realistic pipe dream would be
Rondo
Bradley
Melo
Smith
Asik

6th man
Sullinger
Chris Johnson
Pressey
Faverani

I (still) don't understand people who pipe-dream about god-awful teams. Which this one is:

1. Three starters who can't shoot .700 on free throws.
2. Three rotation players that have little, if any, NBA talent.
3. Zero players that have shown any ability to make a three-pointer reliably.
4. An aging star player who will likely only get worse over the course of his next contract, and who has shown zero indication of being able to compensate potentially declining physical gifts with skill or savvy.

And that's before we even get into a discussion of Anthony quitting in games, or how tantalizing it would be to watch this particular player concoction.

[manl_lui]

I agree to an extent. I was against trading Pierce for Josh Smith at first, but I was very open to trading Green for him. Then he went to Detroit and he was utterly disappointing. I agree that he would have great chemistry with Rondo and his defense is amazing. But I want no where near his contract.

So theoretically if we do get Smith, who becomes our scorer? Bradley the chucker? Sullinger? Smith (god no). BUt then again, you can also argue we don't have one right now.

I hope DA decides to try to trade for him, slot Sullinger as a back up PF, and let Smith dominate from easy lobs/alley oops from Rondo.........

I also would like to say Sully seems like he may be a good player in the future. But I wouldn't bet my entire life on it... If you can obtain Smith for Wallace/Bogans... then you do it....

The reason I want Sully to be a back up sixth man is that it may preserve his body, and his back. We want him to keep working and hustling. And let him develop. Yes not giving him full minutes may be an issue, but we can always slot Smith at SF/PF. Give plenty of time to whoever. If Wallace does get traded for Smith, I see it as more of a opportunity for Rondo to definitely want to stay with his buddy.

This is exactly what i was thinking....I love Sully but im not convinced his health problems are fixed so being a 6th man for a few years would be great for him then maybe start a few years and then he is back to bench IMO im worried his career will be short so being a 6th may help to prolong it.

Altho I dont like Smith at SF at all, so if we trade green for lets say asik....better get a quality SF from draft or another trade

Smith has a terrible contract, but if we can get his stats a little higher, and make him actually look good, then it won't be hard to move in the future. It doesn't affect as cap space as much if we can move Wallace/Bogans/Green for Smith, and possibly getting a prospect back in return. There is a more longer commitment, but... for a player like Smith who isn't a superstar, but a great two way player, I'd do it. I know DA would never do it, as he's had multiple chances of pulling off a trade for Smith, but never seemed interested enough.

As for keeping Bradley, well... if he can ever improve offensively, I don't see why not... Yes we need a better go-to guy scorer. I would prefer us to try to trade for a good SF, or draft one.

Plus like I said, if there is a Rondo/Smith combo. It may lure free agents to us.

Realistic pipe dream would be
Rondo
Bradley
Melo
Smith
Asik

6th man
Sullinger
Chris Johnson
Pressey
Faverani


That is a formidable team, and I don't care what you guys say. That could contend.

And like I said, I think Sully could be our future PF, but right now he needs playing time, but needs a few rests and breaks here and then. Give him 25-27 MPG, but then give him a few games where he plays 10-20 so KO/Faverani can play. Plus it still gives more room for veterans to be shipped and raise their stock value.

actually, that team is a contending team.

Melo is our go-to scorer. Defensive anchor in Smith, legit center in Asik and pass 1st pg in Rondo.

That team can make a lot of noise in the East, but the problem is chemistry and cap space. Do we have enough cap space to lure/trade for both players?

also, say end of the year comes. Do we trade our 2014 pick to get it done? or could it be done after we draft?

[D.o.s.]

That just means you had a bad read on Zach Randolph. 

I don't think that always counting on Zach Randolph to take the worst shot in the least opportune moment was a bad read. The three-pointer airballs were especially entertaining.

For sure. Dude was in cut that check mode for most of his career.

On the other hand... and this goes to Tim's point--Before Memphis Z-Bo had played for three teams. Two of which were the Isiah Knicks and the Jail Blazers. The other... was the Clippers.

I'm sure the stellar front office and management of all those teams inspired those rosters to reach new and greater heights.

[Monkhouse]

You don't try to make Smith a stretch forward. You need to have him in the paint where he belongs. Yes he can hit the mid range jumper, but anything further than 18 feet is a no-no.

Either way Josh Smith in my opinion has always been underrated. He's a skilled big men who is althetic, can defend, can pass, and has been questioned many times for his basketball IQ, but the problem with that is... Josh Smith on the Hawks cannot be your go to guy... He's an perennial All-Star, but not a superstar. They keep treating him like he is though. And unfortunately that is their big problem.

I don't think the problem is that the Hawks were forcing Smith to be a go-to guy, I think the problem is that he wants that role and he left the Hawks in search of a place where he could try to be the player he wants to be.

If you've ever watched Hawks games, then you'd see that majority of the shots in 4th quarter were usually by Johnson or Smith. But Smith had a higher USG rate.

Plus you gotta to take into account, besides the Cavs, and a few select franchises like Kings. The Hawks have a terrible organization, and until 2007 managed to make the playoffs with a losing record of 37-45! They haven't been in the playoffs for 8 years, making terrible draft decisions, making odd weird mid-season trades, until they tried to wise by compiling a successful roster, but crippled themselves by giving Johnson the most absurd contract next to Arenas.

Also the Hawks fans are terrible. Have you've seen a few games of the Hawks? Even when Smith does well, they seem to boo him each and every time. Josh Smith has commented on how loud and proud we Celtics fan are, and he's stated in a post game how jealous he is of the support the Celtics fans give their players.

I don't know whether or not Smith wants to be considered a superstar. I remember he wanted to be paid like one. But I mean... he's been on a good bargain contracts for the past few years, and has been consistent. Worse case, he sucks, but manages to maintain good defense on our team, and hit the mid range, then the Rockets might want him, and slot T-Jones as their back up PF.

Like I said a combo of Smith/Rondo would be fun to watch, and I have no doubt in my mind this would help in terms of FA wanting to play here.

Smith has been the only FA that has actually wanted to play in Boston, since David West who as you know, kicked us to the curb. A smart and wise decision, but having someone like West during the Big 3 Era would've been great.

Realistic pipe dream would be
Rondo
Bradley
Melo
Smith
Asik

6th man
Sullinger
Chris Johnson
Pressey
Faverani

I (still) don't understand people who pipe-dream about god-awful teams. Which this one is:

1. Three starters who can't shoot .700 on free throws.
2. Three rotation players that have little, if any, NBA talent.
3. Zero players that have shown any ability to make a three-pointer reliably.
4. An aging star player who will likely only get worse over the course of his next contract, and who has shown zero indication of being able to compensate potentially declining physical gifts with skill or savvy.

And that's before we even get into a discussion of Anthony quitting in games, or how tantalizing it would be to watch this particular player concoction.

Well this year... Melo is hitting on .421% per basketball reference, while attempting 4.6 per game... That is pretty good, don't cha think?

Three rotation players that don't have talent? Okay, so besides Bradley, Asik, who else are you talking about? I really don't hope you think Smith/Melo or Rondo don't have any talent...

As for the free throw percentage, I agree its terrible but... You forget we have Ron Adams who has helped Derrick Rose actually have a competent jumper, and I have no doubt in my mind Adams can at least help all of them at least hit a few extra ones.

I'm not going to try to debate with you, I'm just going to say if you don't believe that is a contender. Then well I guess most teams are going to seriously start praying Durant is a FA in 2016.

[D.o.s.]

Um, the Hawks have been in the playoffs every year since 2007.

[Monkhouse]

Um, the Hawks have been in the playoffs every year since 2007.

Um, that is exactly what I wrote...

I'm assuming you think I meant past 7 years, but I wrote 8 years, as in they haven't made the playoffs from 1999-2007.

[D.o.s.]

Um, the Hawks have been in the playoffs every year since 2007.

Um, that is exactly what I wrote...

I'm assuming you think I meant past 7 years, but I wrote 8 years, as in they haven't made the playoffs from 1999-2007.

No. It isn't.

"Haven't" is present tense. It's a conjunction of "have not." So when you write "The Hawks haven't made the playoffs since..." you're framing the timeline from the present (that's what the present tense does), so you're talking 2014-back... which is exactly what you wrote.

You meant "hadn't." That's the past tense. The conjunction of "Had not."



The Hawks had not made the playoffs in eight years.

Is not the same as:

The Hawks have not made the playoffs in eight years.

But thanks for clarifying.

[bleedGREENdon]

rondo,Bradley,Melo,smith,asik

Is top 3 defensive team in the nba off rip.
If we could do this. I would be excited for our team. It's very possible to do.

Trade jeff green bass and a future 1st for Smith.

Trade sully, nets 1st this year, humphries, bogans, Philly picks next year for Melo

Our first round pick next year for asik.

Idk that was thrown around. But if Danny really wanted to. He has the assets to do so.

[Monkhouse]

Haven't is present tense. It's a conjunction of "have not." So when you write "The Hawks haven't made the playoffs since..." you're talking 2014-back... which is exactly what you wrote.

You meant "hadn't. That's the past tense. The conjunction of "Had not."



The Hawks had not made the playoffs in eight years.

Is not the same as:

The Hawks have not made the playoffs in eight years.

But thanks for clarifying.

My mistake. I haven't had my morning coffee due to traffic 

I did indeed meant to say the Hawks originally weren't in the playoffs from the years 1999-2007.

rondo,Bradley,Melo,smith,asik

Is top 3 defensive team in the nba off rip.
If we could do this. I would be excited for our team. It's very possible to do.

Trade jeff green bass and a future 1st for Smith.

Trade sully, nets 1st this year, humphries, bogans, Philly picks next year for Melo

Our first round pick next year for asik.

Idk that was thrown around. But if Danny really wanted to. He has the assets to do so.

I agree. I don't know maybe I just like Smith a lot. I still think Smith is a bulkier, slightly slower, and better blocking version of Iggy. He just doesn't have the ability to shoot the 3 ball as well as Iggy has done this year.

[D.o.s.]

NP. I'm in the same boat, sort of--my morning coffee is cold, and I'm cranky.

[clover]

I think I'd only want in on this as part of a three-way. But if all these teams are interested in Greem and Green can only go to one team, is there a chance any of them could be sold on Wallace? If so, might Detroit be ready for Wallace as the un-Josh?

[Kane3387]

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=kqttsa6

Smith and Villanueva
For
Wallace green and bass

[kozlodoev]

Well this year... Melo is hitting on .421% per basketball reference, while attempting 4.6 per game... That is pretty good, don't cha think?

Three rotation players that don't have talent? Okay, so besides Bradley, Asik, who else are you talking about? I really don't hope you think Smith/Melo or Rondo don't have any talent...

As for the free throw percentage, I agree its terrible but... You forget we have Ron Adams who has helped Derrick Rose actually have a competent jumper, and I have no doubt in my mind Adams can at least help all of them at least hit a few extra ones.

Anthony is a career 34% three-point shooter, and has shot 33% or less in three of the last six seasons. Forgive me if this doesn't fit the definition of reliable. For comparison, Pierce has had a total of two seasons in his whole career where he shot less than 34%. 

I hope you understand that "rotation player" is not the same as starter. I'll actually go on a limb and challenge you to find any team who has been in anything reasonably close to contention while slotting the likes of Johnson, Faverani, and Pressey in rotation slots 7 to 9. To put things in perspective, even a top-heavy roster such as the Heat last season had Battier, Andersen, Haslem and Mike Miller in the bottom of their rotation. The Thunder had Collison, Fisher, Eric Maynor and Reggie Jackson.

I've got no idea who Ron Adams is, but given the "results" he has had with Rajon Rondo, I remain skeptical about his ability to magically turn Asik and Smith, both in the middle of their pro careers, into reliable free throw shooters.

[BballTim]

I'll agree that Smith has the longer track record, but I'll agree to disagree that Smith is a vastly superior player. In fact, I don't think he is superior at all right now. I'll take Sullinger now and I definitely expect Sullinger to take another leap or two over the next 2 seasons.

There season to date comparisons:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=sullija01&y1=2014&p2=smithjo03&y2=2014

So in his worst season to date, Smith is more or less comparable to Sullinger. Ok then.

  His worst seasons were probably when he was as inexperienced as Sully is, and he saw a predictable improvement over the next couple of years. You'd also have to consider that his production has been dropping over time.

[Evantime34]

I have been a big Smith fan in the past and I think that if Detroit decides to give him away for a lesser Salary, like Gerald Wallace and Keith Bogans then I think we have to at least discuss it. However, I don't see Smith's price tag getting that low so just as any other Josh Smith trade discussion it will amount to nothing.