Idea: how do we get Josh Smith?

[wdleehi]

if it's true that Josh Smith and Rondo are close friends... trade Rondo for Al Horford.  Then just sign Deron Williams in the offseason.

Horford and Teague, maybe.  Still sign Williams.

[CelticG1]

The question is less about how good you think he is and more about how much you would invest for him.

Im sure he will be looking at a long term big deal and I just think it would be a terrible idea to invest 5 years 60 mill or something like that.

Yes he'd be nice for a reasonable contract but outright signing him to a big deal would be depressing. I mean he's basically been the Hawks 3rd option for the past 5 years and they've sucked. I can't imagine why people think pairing him with Rondo and would suddenly turn him into Karl Malone.

[arctic 3.0]

If we can resign KG and green  to  reasonable deals and let allen  walk we should have quite a bit of money  left over.
we may have enough to swap a traded player exception for smith or ilyasova or jefferson.

rondo,
bradley
pierce
smith or ilysova lor jefferson
KG
with green as the 6th man

I'd like to resign wilcox, steemer, petrius and dooling to round it out though i think that puts us way over the cap...

[JSD]

If we can resign KG and green  to  reasonable deals and let allen  walk we should have quite a bit of money  left over.
we may have enough to swap a traded player exception for smith or ilyasova or jefferson.

rondo,
bradley
pierce
smith or ilysova lor jefferson
KG
with green as the 6th man

I'd like to resign wilcox, steemer, petrius and dooling to round it out though i think that puts us way over the cap...

No, I don't like this. That's almost like trading Bass, Allen, Stiemsma, Pietrus and Wilcox for $10-12 million of cap space after signing Green and KG. That's not worth it.

[dlpin]

Have you watched Josh Smith play this series? Yes he takes jump shots, bad ones at that, and does dumb things every once an a while. but this dude is a play maker and you really cant argue against that. In his four games against us in the playoffs he has averaged 17 points, 16 rebounds!,  and 5 assists. His turnovers are at 3.5 which isnt great and he is shooting below 40% because of all the jump shots he has taken. But he has been the focal point and the conductor of a Hawks offense that really doesnt exist. He is finding the open man and when he is getting to the rim is very effective against us. Plus his defense is pretty stellar as well. You cant deny what this kid does for the Hawks.

And in the regular season he averaged 19, 10 and 4 while shooting 46% from the field.

You put Smith's postseason stats next to Pierce's and there isnt much difference.

Smith: 17, 16, 5, 3.5 to's, and 39% shooting
Pierce: 22,  7,  3, 3.6to's  and  42% shooting

In no way shape or form am I saying Smith is better than Pierce. But you cant take away that he is playing great for the Hawks and you also cant take away the fact that inserting him into a lineup along with Pierce, Garnett, and rondo would make us significantly better.

Since I live in Atlanta, I am pretty sure I have seen him play more than most here. You do realize that his rebounding numbers in this series have a lot more to do with the fact that he was the only big on the court when the celtics were shooting poorly than with him actually being a great rebounder, right? Hell, Zaza Pachulia averaged 15 and 10 for a while there in the regular season, and I wouldn't consider him a cornerstone for a franchise either.


As for your comparison of Pierce and Smith, it is only half complete. The other half of the picture is one where Josh Smith's 16.5 points a game come on 14 shots a game, with a true shooting percentage of 42%, while Pierce's 22 come from 17 shots a game, for a true shooting percentage of 52%. Where Smith's ws/48 are 0.038 vs Pierce's .135.


As a role player who we don't have to give up much to get Smith might be fine. But he is clearly not interested in that.

[Geo123]

This line-up, plus a draft steal and a decent supporting cast, gets us banner 19 next year (two shining examples of my optimism in that sentence right there):

PG Rondo
SG Bradley
SF Pierce/Green
PF Josh Smith
C KG

Any ideas on how Danny could get Smith? I'ld love to see him run with Rondo.

If you want him next year you'll have to trade Rondo plus plus to get him.  The Hawks have already said they consider him an Al Star and true Franchise player.  You don't get those types and keep most of your assets. 

Now maybe if the Hawks stink next year (not probable)and Smith says he's leaving you may have a chance at the deadline to get him but it still won't be cheap. 

[JSD]

Josh Smith is a reincarnation of Antoine Walker when it comes to shot selection. I would pass on him.

[LooseCannon]

If you want him next year you'll have to trade Rondo plus plus to get him.  The Hawks have already said they consider him an Al Star and true Franchise player.  You don't get those types and keep most of your assets. 

There's no way they would be exaggerating in an attempt to get someone to offer more, right?

[kne]

kne, there's been quite a bit of discussion about Smith all throughout this season here. You're new (welcome to the blog, BTW), so you probably don't realize that these are well-trodden paths you're taking us down.

Thanks Lucky17, I looked for a topic on Smith but couldn't find a recent one. The trodden paths appear to appeal to some, at least

[GDAbraham]

I think he would do better in this culture, but he costs too much and he comes with a lot of mental lapsing.

[CFAN38]

If we want to get Smith to Boston then wait till he is a FA then get him into town and play videos of walker jacking up 3s on the jumbo tron. Smith will picture himself just throwing up shots and sign that day.

[Chris]

Smith and Rondo would be an absolute monster.  The question is, will it be a monster that will devour other teams, or will they just enable each other, causing the monster to devour their own team?  I really have no idea.  Which is why, if we did get him, I want him this summer, so we have a year long trial period before having to commit to him long term.

[bucknersrevenge]

Have you watched Josh Smith play this series? Yes he takes jump shots, bad ones at that, and does dumb things every once an a while. but this dude is a play maker and you really cant argue against that. In his four games against us in the playoffs he has averaged 17 points, 16 rebounds!,  and 5 assists. His turnovers are at 3.5 which isnt great and he is shooting below 40% because of all the jump shots he has taken. But he has been the focal point and the conductor of a Hawks offense that really doesnt exist. He is finding the open man and when he is getting to the rim is very effective against us. Plus his defense is pretty stellar as well. You cant deny what this kid does for the Hawks.

And in the regular season he averaged 19, 10 and 4 while shooting 46% from the field.

You put Smith's postseason stats next to Pierce's and there isnt much difference.

Smith: 17, 16, 5, 3.5 to's, and 39% shooting
Pierce: 22,  7,  3, 3.6to's  and  42% shooting

In no way shape or form am I saying Smith is better than Pierce. But you cant take away that he is playing great for the Hawks and you also cant take away the fact that inserting him into a lineup along with Pierce, Garnett, and rondo would make us significantly better.

Since I live in Atlanta, I am pretty sure I have seen him play more than most here. You do realize that his rebounding numbers in this series have a lot more to do with the fact that he was the only big on the court when the celtics were shooting poorly than with him actually being a great rebounder, right? Hell, Zaza Pachulia averaged 15 and 10 for a while there in the regular season, and I wouldn't consider him a cornerstone for a franchise either.


As for your comparison of Pierce and Smith, it is only half complete. The other half of the picture is one where Josh Smith's 16.5 points a game come on 14 shots a game, with a true shooting percentage of 42%, while Pierce's 22 come from 17 shots a game, for a true shooting percentage of 52%. Where Smith's ws/48 are 0.038 vs Pierce's .135.


As a role player who we don't have to give up much to get Smith might be fine. But he is clearly not interested in that.

I lived in ATL for 10 years so I also know all about Josh and I can't find fault with any of your logic or numbers. It does though have me curious as to what Paul's numbers looked like before Doc got here. I ask because Josh plays in the same time of iso, non passing offense that Paul was in for years with Jim O'Brien before Doc took over. Doc definitely had an effect on Paul's maturation which was sped up when KG and Ray came aboard.

[Geo123]

If you want him next year you'll have to trade Rondo plus plus to get him.  The Hawks have already said they consider him an Al Star and true Franchise player.  You don't get those types and keep most of your assets. 

There's no way they would be exaggerating in an attempt to get someone to offer more, right?

NO.  Not when their owner has said several times that Smith isn't available and that he wants him to be a Hawk long term....

[nickagneta]

Maybe others have said this but I would rather figure out a way to get Al Horford. Kids big, he's athletic, he has a high BBIQ, he's supremely talented and he has heart.

THAT'S the kind of player I want on the Celtics. Not a bonehead like Smith.