Bucks also in the mix. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="de"><p>There r whispers Bucks r in Josh Smith Sweepstakes.</p>— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeryWoelfel/status/302811412399546368">16. Februar 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Bucks will be one of the more interesting teams to watch at the trade deadline.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Still many involved for Atlanta's Josh Smith, including Bucks, Nets, Celtics, 76ers, Wizards, others, sources say. Strong belief he's moved.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/303055299105918977">February 17, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Good move. With this many teams bidding, his price will be inflated. Plus, Smith is looking for a max contract. Which means we'd either have to overpay, or give up a big package for a rental.
Please, please, please let the Bucks pull this off without giving up either Monta Ellis or Brandon Jennings. IT WILL BE SO HILARIOUS!
I'm not sure why NBA media folks and fans believe that Josh Smith is going to fetch much in a trade. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer and there will be very few teams that will be both willing and able to pay him max or near max money. Milwaukee can easily put together a trade involving neither Ellis nor Jennings although I'm not sure why that would be "hilarious." My guess is that Milwaukee either a) packages Ersan Ilyasova with Beno Udrih's expiring contract, along with maybe their 2013 first round pick, or b) packages John Henson with the expiring contracts of Samuel Dalembert and Udrih, along with maybe a first round pick. My guess is that Milwaukee is reluctant to throw in the first round pick because they know that there aren't really any especially strong offers being made for Smith. Milwaukee is stupid to trade Ilyasova for Smith because Ilyasova is not only a lot less expensive than Smith but he's probably a better basketball player, not to mention a better human being. As I've suggested elsewhere, my guess is that Atlanta values $7.9 mil in cap space more than Ilyasova, so I expect a third team to get involved, and for that team to send prospects/picks/expiring contracts for Ilyasova, if Ilyasova is involved. And I can see that team being the Rockets. Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris, and Cole Aldrich for Ilyasova and maybe filler should do the trick. It would not surprise me if this offer is on the table, and Morey is just doing his due diligence, so as to make sure he can't conjure up a better way to parlay Patterson, Morris, and his nearly $7 mil in available cap space into one more assets that he likes better than Ilyasova. My guess is that we may see both Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings back with the Bucks next season. Jennings wants a big extension but is there a single team out there that believes that he's worth it? Maybe Dallas trades Darren Collison (who, like Jennings, is also a restricted free agent this summer) along with maybe an expiring contract and a second round pick. I doubt Jennings will fetch much more than that, he's nothing special. I also am not seeing a big market for Ellis developing this summer, either, although he brings more to the table (as a player) than Jennings.
Comparing Mikhail Prokhorov to Cuban is silly. Cuban may have a billion dollars. Prokhorov has 13 billion dollars. The dude has enough money to buy every NBA team and still have some money left over. He can afford the luxury tax for a while.
Prokhorov may be able to afford to pay the luxury tax but the Nets are still a complete disaster, all because of his meddling. Prokhorov is pushing management to make idiotic, short-sighted deals. He pushed management to trade what turned out to be the #6 overall pick in the 2012 draft (Damian Lillard went at that slot) for Gerald Wallace, whose contract was expiring at the end of the 2011-12 season and who Portland did not intend to re-sign. Brooklyn actually had the cap space to sign Wallace, even if they had not traded the pick for Wallace. In other words, Brooklyn could have kept the pick, drafted Lillard (or whoever else was available at that slot), AND signed Wallace outright. They could've had their cake and eaten it, too. Prokhorov also pushed management to trade for one of the absolute worst contracts in the league, Joe Johnson's contract. Johnson is no longer an All-Star-caliber player, not even close, yet he is one of the league's highest paid players. Deron Williams has also been given nearly $100 mil despite the fact that he has seemingly already begun to decline as a player. And, as previously mentioned, Brooklyn gave Kris Humphries two years, $24 mil, despite the fact that Humphries is nothing special. The key to a team's success is strong but non-meddling ownership. Prokhorov is loaded but he is a meddler. As a result, the Nets will not be successful until he learns to keep his hands off and allow management to just do its job. Mark Cuban is arguably a meddler, but he is a math/stats geek, so he is not ever going to trade for a Joe Johnson, or give Kris Humphries $24 mil to be Kris Humphries.
One more point about Prokhorov and his style of overly aggressive ownership. When you overpay for talent, you make it very difficult for yourself to ever make moves. Nobody is going to ever give Brooklyn anything valuable for Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, or Gerald Wallace at those prices. Therefore, Brooklyn will be stuck with all of these guys, and, because nobody will want to trade anything remotely valuable for these guys, and also because of the hard cap, Brooklyn will be unable to make any additions to the roster, other than through the draft. Those of you who have followed the NBA for more than ten years or so should remember the Knicks from ten or so years ago. There was a joke that went like this: "The New York Knicks: Where All Bad Contracts Go To Die." The Knicks roster was completely bloated, super expensive, and their players weren't that good. Interestingly, the Brooklyn Nets have already turned into the New York Knicks from yesteryear under Prokhorov. In a year or two, Brooklyn will have an aging, bloated roster that struggles to do much better than the #7 or #8 seed in the East despite having the league's highest payroll. They will be a complete joke.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Latest deadline rumble: Boston exploring its Josh Smith options. The prob: Can't do it w/out Pierce. Justcan't see Ainge sending PP to ATL</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/303686376359096321">February 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>KG ain't waiving no-trade clause to go to ATL. So Celts would have to part with iconic PP to get J-Smoove. So can't happen w/out more teams</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/303687856331841537">February 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Hawks have convinced numerous teams that Josh Smith will be moved between now and Thursday 3 PM deadline. Question remains where exactly</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/303688819402756098">February 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Boston's active on several fronts, including discussions on Josh Smith. Brooklyn is solely focused on making a Smith deal.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/303692659690729473">February 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>One more: In Josh Smith derby, several teams believe Suns are determined for deal after missing on Eric Gordon and Rudy Gay in past months.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/303702400626212865">February 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
@WojYahooNBA: One more: In Josh Smith derby, several teams believe Suns are determined for deal after missing on Eric Gordon and Rudy Gay in past months.
And then they settle for some 40 year old lady and try to convince themselves that it's going to be all right. I actually think Phoenix will get Josh Smith. This is not a good ting for Phoenix at all.
What do they do with Markieff Morris than? Play him at the 5? And what happens to Scola? What the hell is Phoenix thinking?!?!?
