Ferry: Unlikely Josh Smith offered extension during next season

[MJohnnyboy]

Sorry kiddies, but I'm ending the Smith speculation now.

Why would Atlanta trade an expiring contract for two longer contracts, not to mention two lesser players, in Bass and Green? For Bradley/Sullinger too? NO. For all the talent Bradley and Sullinger have, Bass and Green are not worth taking with Bradley and/or Sullinger. They are by no means stars. Not to mention that is too much for a borderline all-star. People, they just unloaded the NBA's worst contract for nothing but expiring contracts. I don't think Bass' three year deal and Green's four year deal are exactly attractive to any team trying to unload an expiring.

For how much Smith has expressed interest in playing here, and how well he would fit in with Rondo, he is NOT. COMING. HERE. There's only one way we get him here in my eyes, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to amnesty Paul Pierce for someone who's not a good shooter, not a smart player, and not exactly easy to deal with.

Sorry to spoil everyone's pipe dream, but it's reality. Ferry's unloading of JJ's contract proves to me the Hawks are starting from scratch, and if Smith leaves ATL after this year, then so be it.

[Chris]

Sorry kiddies, but I'm ending the Smith speculation now.

Why would Atlanta trade an expiring contract for two longer contracts, not to mention two lesser players, in Bass and Green? For Bradley/Sullinger too? NO. For all the talent Bradley and Sullinger have, Bass and Green are not worth taking with Bradley and/or Sullinger. Not to mention that is too much for a borderline all-star. They are by no means stars. People, they just unloaded the NBA's worst contract for nothing but expiring contracts. I don't think Bass' three year deal and Green's four year deal are exactly attractive to any team trying to unload an expiring.

For how much Smith has expressed interest in playing here, and how well he would fit in with Rondo, he is NOT. COMING. HERE. There's only one way we get him here in my eyes, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to amnesty Paul Pierce for someone who's not a good shooter, not a smart player, and not exactly easy to deal with.

Sorry to spoil everyone's pipe dream, but it's reality. Ferry's unloading of JJ's contract proves to me the Hawks are starting from scratch, and if Smith leaves ATL after this year, then so be it.

Yup.  The only way they trade Smith for Green is if Green makes the leap to stardom.  In which case, I don't think we would be trading him.

[saltlover]

Sorry kiddies, but I'm ending the Smith speculation now.

Why would Atlanta trade an expiring contract for two longer contracts, not to mention two lesser players, in Bass and Green? For Bradley/Sullinger too? NO. For all the talent Bradley and Sullinger have, Bass and Green are not worth taking with Bradley and/or Sullinger. They are by no means stars. Not to mention that is too much for a borderline all-star. People, they just unloaded the NBA's worst contract for nothing but expiring contracts. I don't think Bass' three year deal and Green's four year deal are exactly attractive to any team trying to unload an expiring.

For how much Smith has expressed interest in playing here, and how well he would fit in with Rondo, he is NOT. COMING. HERE. There's only one way we get him here in my eyes, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to amnesty Paul Pierce for someone who's not a good shooter, not a smart player, and not exactly easy to deal with.

Sorry to spoil everyone's pipe dream, but it's reality. Ferry's unloading of JJ's contract proves to me the Hawks are starting from scratch, and if Smith leaves ATL after this year, then so be it.

Amnestying Pierce won't do much, as we'd still be very near the salary cap, and thus not have the room to sign Smith to appreciably more than the MLE.  As I've said, earlier in this post and most every other post about this topic, is that Pierce would have to be traded in a Smith deal.  I'm okay with this if Pierce tells Danny he's retiring, and thus Ferry will waive Pierce next season and take on only $5 mil salary for next season.  But otherwise, barring a complete implosion of this team as presently constructed, Josh Smith is not coming here.  (Unless he just wants to take the MLE next season, because he wants to play in Boston that badly, in which case, yes please!)

[Jon]

Sorry kiddies, but I'm ending the Smith speculation now.

Why would Atlanta trade an expiring contract for two longer contracts, not to mention two lesser players, in Bass and Green? For Bradley/Sullinger too? NO. For all the talent Bradley and Sullinger have, Bass and Green are not worth taking with Bradley and/or Sullinger. Not to mention that is too much for a borderline all-star. They are by no means stars. People, they just unloaded the NBA's worst contract for nothing but expiring contracts. I don't think Bass' three year deal and Green's four year deal are exactly attractive to any team trying to unload an expiring.

For how much Smith has expressed interest in playing here, and how well he would fit in with Rondo, he is NOT. COMING. HERE. There's only one way we get him here in my eyes, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to amnesty Paul Pierce for someone who's not a good shooter, not a smart player, and not exactly easy to deal with.

Sorry to spoil everyone's pipe dream, but it's reality. Ferry's unloading of JJ's contract proves to me the Hawks are starting from scratch, and if Smith leaves ATL after this year, then so be it.

Yup.  The only way they trade Smith for Green is if Green makes the leap to stardom.  In which case, I don't think we would be trading him.

I tend to think we overexaggerate our chances.  Still, I think there's a shot, but it's going to be a heavier price than most people think. 

I think it's possible we could pull a Green, Bradley, and Sullinger deal even if Green doesn't make the leap to stardom. 

Short term, I think it works out nicely for us.  We have a lineup of Rondo, Terry, Pierce, Smith, KG to close out games and still have Bass, Wilcox, Lee (who would start), and Darko to round out the rotation.  We'd obviously be light at the wing spots and would likely have to bring someone in.

The problem is long term. Giving up those pieces puts a much bigger burden on the C's acquiring more pieces for the future.  If Smith agrees to sign a reasonable extension (10-12 million a year), then the C's should be fine and will have ample opportunity to add to a Rondo/Smith combo another superstar once KG and PP hang it up. 

Still, the difference between 12 million a year and 17 million a year (the max starting salary) might not be as debilitating as it seems.   

[MJohnnyboy]

Sorry kiddies, but I'm ending the Smith speculation now.

Why would Atlanta trade an expiring contract for two longer contracts, not to mention two lesser players, in Bass and Green? For Bradley/Sullinger too? NO. For all the talent Bradley and Sullinger have, Bass and Green are not worth taking with Bradley and/or Sullinger. Not to mention that is too much for a borderline all-star. They are by no means stars. People, they just unloaded the NBA's worst contract for nothing but expiring contracts. I don't think Bass' three year deal and Green's four year deal are exactly attractive to any team trying to unload an expiring.

For how much Smith has expressed interest in playing here, and how well he would fit in with Rondo, he is NOT. COMING. HERE. There's only one way we get him here in my eyes, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to amnesty Paul Pierce for someone who's not a good shooter, not a smart player, and not exactly easy to deal with.

Sorry to spoil everyone's pipe dream, but it's reality. Ferry's unloading of JJ's contract proves to me the Hawks are starting from scratch, and if Smith leaves ATL after this year, then so be it.

Yup.  The only way they trade Smith for Green is if Green makes the leap to stardom.  In which case, I don't think we would be trading him.

I tend to think we overexaggerate our chances.  Still, I think there's a shot, but it's going to be a heavier price than most people think. 

I think it's possible we could pull a Green, Bradley, and Sullinger deal even if Green doesn't make the leap to stardom. 

Short term, I think it works out nicely for us.  We have a lineup of Rondo, Terry, Pierce, Smith, KG to close out games and still have Bass, Wilcox, Lee (who would start), and Darko to round out the rotation.  We'd obviously be light at the wing spots and would likely have to bring someone in.

The problem is long term. Giving up those pieces puts a much bigger burden on the C's acquiring more pieces for the future.  If Smith agrees to sign a reasonable extension (10-12 million a year), then the C's should be fine and will have ample opportunity to add to a Rondo/Smith combo another superstar once KG and PP hang it up. 

Still, the difference between 12 million a year and 17 million a year (the max starting salary) might not be as debilitating as it seems.

But why would Atlanta take LESSER players on LONGER contracts for an expiring contract? They are not that stupid!

[Jon]

Sorry kiddies, but I'm ending the Smith speculation now.

Why would Atlanta trade an expiring contract for two longer contracts, not to mention two lesser players, in Bass and Green? For Bradley/Sullinger too? NO. For all the talent Bradley and Sullinger have, Bass and Green are not worth taking with Bradley and/or Sullinger. Not to mention that is too much for a borderline all-star. They are by no means stars. People, they just unloaded the NBA's worst contract for nothing but expiring contracts. I don't think Bass' three year deal and Green's four year deal are exactly attractive to any team trying to unload an expiring.

For how much Smith has expressed interest in playing here, and how well he would fit in with Rondo, he is NOT. COMING. HERE. There's only one way we get him here in my eyes, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to amnesty Paul Pierce for someone who's not a good shooter, not a smart player, and not exactly easy to deal with.

Sorry to spoil everyone's pipe dream, but it's reality. Ferry's unloading of JJ's contract proves to me the Hawks are starting from scratch, and if Smith leaves ATL after this year, then so be it.

Yup.  The only way they trade Smith for Green is if Green makes the leap to stardom.  In which case, I don't think we would be trading him.

I tend to think we overexaggerate our chances.  Still, I think there's a shot, but it's going to be a heavier price than most people think. 

I think it's possible we could pull a Green, Bradley, and Sullinger deal even if Green doesn't make the leap to stardom. 

Short term, I think it works out nicely for us.  We have a lineup of Rondo, Terry, Pierce, Smith, KG to close out games and still have Bass, Wilcox, Lee (who would start), and Darko to round out the rotation.  We'd obviously be light at the wing spots and would likely have to bring someone in.

The problem is long term. Giving up those pieces puts a much bigger burden on the C's acquiring more pieces for the future.  If Smith agrees to sign a reasonable extension (10-12 million a year), then the C's should be fine and will have ample opportunity to add to a Rondo/Smith combo another superstar once KG and PP hang it up. 

Still, the difference between 12 million a year and 17 million a year (the max starting salary) might not be as debilitating as it seems.

But why would Atlanta take LESSER players on LONGER contracts for an expiring contract? They are not that stupid!

I tend to agree that they aren't eager to trade Smith for simply "something"; however, I also think that they don't value cap space as much as some people may think. 

Cap space is great if they think they can land a superstar, but 1) who is out there that fits the description next summer (assuming Dwight signs with LA) and 2) who actually wants to go to Atlanta to play with Al Horford and essentially no one else? (I exaggerate, but you get the point.)

Thus, if they look at the rebuilding process as at least a 2-3 year period and they happen to think that Bradley and Sullinger can be pretty big parts of their future, I think they would be willing to swallow Jeff Green's deal assuming that he at least plays as well as he did in OKC. 

They are going to have to sign players to fill out their roster anyway, and if Sullinger and Bradley can start, the savings they give them more than makes up for the cost of Green.  Then in a couple of years as they are looking to make a splash via free agency or a trade, Green's deal will be much more movable and perhaps even seen as a bargain depending on his progress. 

[BostonNative]

If smith does not want to play for ATL and refuses to play for any wants to play for just boston then the trade will happen. The hawks would choose to either trade gor green and bass and a pick or let him walk for nothing. I'm positive they want SOMETHING.

My "pipedream" is not over yet and far from crushed. Looking at the whole dwightmare go through I know for a fact if i player wants to go THEY WILL. and who did the Magic get out of that trade? I cant even remember lol. In other words it can happen!

[pearljammer10]

I would not be at all surprised to see Josh Smith in a celts jersey come January.

Bass and Green for Smith... heck id even throw bradley in the deal.

[snively]

Assuming for the sake of discussion that Danny wants to trade for Smith, all you need to do to overcome Atlanta's potential distaste for long-term deals is find a 3rd team.  Bass/Green may not be appealing to Atlanta, but they may have appeal to another team that has expiring contracts to offer in return - Cleveland (Walton and Gibson), Detroit (Maggette and Maxiell), Milwaukee (Dalembert and Udrih) and Toronto (Calderon and Gray) are all teams with expiring deals and past histories of acquiring long-term deals.  Toronto and Cleveland in particular might have keen interest in Jeff Green as both are exceptionally weak at the SF spot, and both are looking to add long-term pieces. 

Let's say Cleveland stepped up to the plate to be the 3rd team, offering Luke Walton's $6 mil expiring, Boobie Gibson's partially guaranteed expiring $4.7 mil deal, Omri Casspi ($2.3 mil expiring, heading into restricted free agency) and a 2nd rounder for Jeff Green, Brandon Bass and Kris Joseph.  That's not a bad value for Cleveland - they dump deadweight and receive expensive but young and productive role players in return.

We send that entire package to Atlanta with Fab Melo and a future first tacked on as sweetener for Josh Smith and Damion James. Atlanta thus preserves their flexibility, saves a few mil (more if they cut Gibson), and adds a trio of assets in Melo, Casspi and the future first.  They enter the 2013 offseason with only Horford, Lou Williams and their rooks on the books and a handful of draft picks (their own pick increasing in value by dumping Smith), as well as restricted free agent rights to Teague and Casspi - a very nice position (though I'd probably just keep Smith if I were them).

And the C's roll out Rondo/Bradley/Pierce/Smith/KG with Terry/Lee/Sullinger/Wilcox in reserve and Darko/Collins/Christmas/James/random vet in deep reserve.  A more serious contender in my book (the massive upgrade from Bass to Smith, front page homerism notwithstanding, significantly outweighing the loss of Green from the bench).

[chambers]

If he doesn't come this season, can't Pierce re-negotiate his deal and take less money for next season?
ATL probably takes at least Bass' contract off our hands if Smith is gonna walk away.

[MJohnnyboy]

I would not be at all surprised to see Josh Smith in a celts jersey come January.

Bass and Green for Smith... heck id even throw bradley in the deal.

Nope that is TOO much for Smith. I am not giving up someone who could disrupt D-Wade, Westbrook, CP3, and Rose for a borderline all-star. Guys like Bradley do NOT grow on trees.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I would absolutely hate to give up G8, Bass, and AB (probably more or different package) for Smith... you guys want to decimate our team for one player (one position)! Why not let who we already have, get their turn... if any of those guys break out it might take less for Smith or we may keep what we have! I mean, if we want Smith, wait til it's ATL on pins and needles trying to send him out for SOMETHING/ANYTHING(see Orl taking garbage for Howard)!

[drogbagarnett]

I would absolutely hate to give up G8, Bass, and AB (probably more or different package) for Smith... you guys want to decimate our team for one player (one position)! Why not let who we already have, get their turn... if any of those guys break out it might take less for Smith or we may keep what we have! I mean, if we want Smith, wait til it's ATL on pins and needles trying to send him out for SOMETHING/ANYTHING(see Orl taking garbage for Howard)!

TP for you and I will even go one step further!
Patience is the key here!
Like I mentioned in another thread, if JSmoove is really into playing in BOS then why not just wait until next year when he can CHOOSE us for less money..?
If he is willing to take a pay cut to 8 to 10 mil and we can somehow rework PP contract then it might be enticing to go over the luxury tax built a solid contender for the future!

[MJohnnyboy]

If smith does not want to play for ATL and refuses to play for any wants to play for just boston then the trade will happen. The hawks would choose to either trade gor green and bass and a pick or let him walk for nothing. I'm positive they want SOMETHING.

My "pipedream" is not over yet and far from crushed. Looking at the whole dwightmare go through I know for a fact if i player wants to go THEY WILL. and who did the Magic get out of that trade? I cant even remember lol. In other words it can happen!

And I'm positive they don't really care if Smith walks because they unloaded JJ for nothing, and they just said they dont have long-term plans for JSmoove. By revealing that they aren't planning on committing to Smith in the long term, they've demonstrated to teams that they don't value Smith much. I'm darn sure the Hawks would be glad to trade Smith if it's for someone who has an expiring contract or someone who is better than him. Bass and Green fit neither of those categories.

NOW if it was Bass and Green who had expiring contracts and it was Smith who had the long term contract, I'd be down for this, but it's the other way, so I just don't see a realistic shot of this happening.

[ManUp]

I think the best we could put together for ATL without gutting our team of major role players is Bass, Bradley, and ATL's choice of Melo/Sully(works on realgm tradechecker). Of course, a contract extension would be a must. Assuming Bradley picks up where he left off it's a fair deal for a guy on his way out, I think.