Amick: Houston trying to lure a Smith/Dwight combo...

Rights to lull, asik, white and a second rnd pick for smith. I think that is pretty fair.

Lin, harden, parson, smith Dwight

Who do we have on the bench tho.
Just bev, Dmo, g.smith, Tjones.

 

Correct, they want Asik so Horford can move to his natural PF position. The Blazers also want Asik. Probably a lot of teams are interested in Asik because he is a steal. But would the Hawks be willing to swallow Lin in order to get him? If so, I think it's a done deal Smith comes here in a SnT.

A writer on my Twitter feed posted a week or two ago the Rockets had no objection to receiving Dwight in a SnT from the Lakers in exchange for Asik and Lin. If so, makes sense they would give up both for Smith.

 

OK. Let's discard what Morey said about Lin and Asik this morning as being unavailable and entertain this notion of signing Josh Smith through a sign and trade with Atlanta.

How it could happen

Howard commits to signing with Houston (no contract yet, just announcement). Josh Smith earned 13.2m last year, so let's work with 15m for this year.
Steps:
Execute Lin + Asik (16.7) for J.Smith (15)
Waive Ohlbrecht, Anderson (1.7)
Waive and Stretch White 1,719,480/3 = 573,160
Dwight signs supermax 20,513,178

Gives you this salary picture:

1) Howard 20,513,178
2) J.Smith 15,000,000
3) Harden 13,755,089 (adjusted for 58.5m cap)
4) T.Jones 1,551,840
5) D-Mo 1,422,720
6) Parsons 926,500
7) G.Smith 884,293
8) Beverley 788,872
9) Canaan 490,180 (no contract yet, assume rookie min.)
10) Cap Hold 490,180
11) Cap Hold 490,180
12) Cap Hold 490,180
13) Cap Hold 490,180

Total = $58,360,665

*Personally, I think Asik + Lin > J.Smith so this wont happen.

Alternatives
1) You can sign Dwight outright to the max using one of the methods Bima outlined in his cap analysis.

2) Keep Lin, trade Asik + PFs for J.Smith and go over the cap.

 

Smith's issue has never been his lack of stroke, but his horrendous shot selection. He has consistently shot the worst in the game, the jumper right inside the 3pt line. Last season, he has become a 30% 3pt shooter. And I'm sure that number can only increase with better shot selection(more corner 3s) and not needing to have the ball in his hands as much(less crappy 3s). And of course the Rockets will basically try to phase most of his 2pt jumpers to a minimum.

As long as one can limit Smith's role on offense, his defense is absolutely beastly. I have no doubt a Howard/Smith combo would vault the Rockets into a top-5 defense next year.

 

why would they want white? Better yet why would anyone want white. Lull is useless as well. If I'm atl I want a future first(which probably won't be a high pick anyways) asik, and either t.jones/motie.

 

New Orleans are going to waive Lopez (I like Lopez as a backup C, i like Lopez's contract as a backup center), I imagine if Morey told them I'll have a deal for you (our pfs, money and maybe a pick if Dwight comes or just space and a pick or two), NOP would hold onto him and then....

the pelicans need an additional $3m in space for Evans, so a 3rd team would probably be involved to take Jones with the pelicans getting the pick or they can waive and stretch White (same cap hit as waiving Lopez but get paid for it) and they have what they want, they also get terrence jones and G Smith (waivable), and they also have their offer sheet for Evans all for a guy they were going to waive. We would get a quality backup center, win win.

 

I'd be very happy not to get him, and don't think he's worth $15 million a season, so we're on the same page there, but I'm just trying to figure out what Morey might do if he thinks getting Smith is essential either to play with Asik, or as the tipping point to signing Howard. If we never got Smith, I'd be happy as a clam. I just want to snag Howard. Howard, Harden, Parsons, and either Asik/Lin, or what we'd get for them (including Smith), would be a contending team.

I know how they impact the cap, but wouldn't the Hawks ownership be on the hook for a $16 million outlay next year? Have I heard so many figures now that I have them mixed up? That's chump change to the Lakers ownership (or used to be under Dr. Buss), but is it to the Hawks?

 

the thought of Harden-D12 PnR w/ Lin-JSmith ready to initiate their own PnR on the weakside if defense overloads and Chandler spotting up...............

 

first page

 

I'm not real high on Josh Smith. I'm hoping the Rockets are trying to convince Smith to sign at a bargain basement price in order to play with his buddy Dwight.

 

Get rid of Lin and keep Asik. 48 mins of total domination on the boards!!!

 

I would be absolutely pumped with an Asik, White and Jones for Smith trade and Jeremy Lin for Jose Calderon S&T w/Pistons. Calderon's shooting would be perfect for that team and both are bad defensively. Throw in Greg Smith if Detroit wants him. Sign a SF/SG wing that can hit open 3s and someone that can play solid backup 5 minutes and the team and rotation is great.

Calderon/Beverly
Harden/Garcia (or other FA)/Canaan
Parsons/Garcia
Smith/Montie
Howard/Dalembert (or other FA)

 

I don't think lins contract is hard to move the harder on is white, I would attach his contract for any move for asik

 

I don't think it'd be too hard to convince Smith to take a slight pay-cut so he could compete for a title instead of wallowing in mediocrity in Atlanta or Detroit.

 

Smith has really bad shot selection, not bad scoring skills. He's actually excellent at the rim and about average between 3-9 feet. His 30-31% from 3 point land is not good but not far from being useful as an actual weapon if you use him as a PF. He just shoots too many mid-range 16-23 feet shots for a guy who only makes 33% of them.

He can probably get much more efficient if he just trades in all his long 2s for 3 pointers, even if he only hits 30% on the 3s. If we can get him more opportunities at the rim (possibly on the break), he can be even better.

 

I don't know, if Dwight doesn't demand him, I say don't bother.

I really like what Morey said about 15-20 minutes of Asik > than an upgrade at 4.

If we have both Asik and Dwight, we can have an elite rebounder/rim protector on the floor at ALL times. I think that's pretty sick. I posted this before, but our lack of a back-up C really hurt us last year. Whenever Asik went out, so did our defense. Plus platooning Asik and Howard could keep both of them fresh and healthy for the playoffs.

Also, I think D-mo, Jones, and Smith still have some upside. Always having them playing alongside Dwight/Asik will only help them on both sides of the court.

And Smith is an awful 3 point shooter. Not a Moreyball player at all. I watched a lot of Hawks games this year, Smith is so prone to the bad-play/dumb-turnover in late-game situations. Given his age and price tag, I would be happy if we passed on him.

 

more importantly
assuming the lineup consists of bev, harden, parsons, smith, howard, with TJo as 6th man, could we be #1 seed?
bev vs westbrook = westbrook by miles
harden vs thabo = harden by miles
parsons vs durant = durant by feet
smith vs ibaka = smith by feet
dwight vs kendrick = dwight by miles
tjo vs kmart = tjo by inches (if he plays likes he did towards the end of the season)

it's a possibility honestly, top 2 team in the west though

 

I think Smith would be a better rim protector due to his defensive abilities and atheltic abilities too. That wouldn't stop him from being a legitimate rebounder too.

 

Although I agree his shot selection is not the best, it's better than any PF we put up this year. On top of that, Smith will stretch the floor and give more room for Harden, Parsons, Bev to attack and because of his athletic abilities he can run in from mid range or even the 3 point line to attack the misses and get any offensive boardds Howard doesn't pick up himself