Don't know if I can live with defenders sitting in the paint waiting for Smith to jack up shots. His value lies in him crashing the boards, cutting around the rim, and protecting the paint on defense. All of which he can do better as a power forward. You wouldn't be getting his full value by placing him at the 3. Personally, I think he's worth Scola and maybe even a pick. He's that good.
My god if Josh Smith is available...he fits every single need we have, youth, shot blocking, elite athleticism, and a "reasonable" contract, as in, not-the-max reasonable (11.6M next year). That is as good as you can get to an untradeable asset, and I would be absolutely shocked if Atlanta traded him for any reason. Having flashbacks to the night Josh Smith dunked the offensive board to beat us at the buzzer (and dunked the crap out of Carl Landry no less), I would guess that Morey would salivate and throw the moon at Atlanta were he truly available. Which all points to one conclusion in my mind. That he's not available.
I think the Hawks are going to want a center so they can move Horford to his natural position, I don't think Chuck Hayes is going to cut it. What happened to the master plan of keeping the core bunch and moving Smith to the 3 and Williams to the bench?
Josh Smith is basically the opposite version of Scola, meaning he excels at things Scola is poor at. Good on the defensive end, great shotblocker. No post up game, jumpshooting range on par with Kenyon Martin = zero. Both average about the same rebounds although I personally think Scola can get the tougher rebounds. The Rockets are severely handicapping their offense if they put a lousy jumpshooting PF beside Yao, the opposing PF doesn't have to honor his man. And the 3 spot already has Ariza and Battier, who don't exactly set the NBA on fire with their scoring prowess (well Ariza can but will build a house in the process). I'm a little annoyed at the Josh Smith fanboyz, they remind me of the Steve Francis fans who went ape**** all over his fancy And1 streetball style and couldn't (didn't want to) realize that he was a poor fundamentals player.
i agree. you need a pf that can stretch the floor, especially next to yao. amare would have fit that and bosh certainly fits that.
First of all, great find by the OP. This scenario does not surprise me. They not have a ton of money invested in JJ, and have to deal with Marvin Williams and then Horford. If I am the Rockets, I keep an eye on this situation as someone like Josh Smith playing PF next to Yao would be a nice option if Bosh doesnt come here.
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i like his game a lot. my only problem with him is that he's an undersized PF. he produces well enough, but he won't get us past the lakers size.
They playe the same position....if anything, it would scare him away As for smith....he's making almost 12 mill...and really how much better can he be than Ariza on this team? By that i mean he's going to be limited because of our depth, so his numbers and impact is comparable. Their differences sort of cancel out, josh is better at driving, but ariza is a better 3 pt shooter, yet neither do either that well anyway. Josh excels at shot blocking and rebounding, but shoot Ft a lot worse....is that really worth twice the cost of Ariza, when our Sf will play a smaller role next year, regardless of who it is?
Actually what makes him a great for us is that Brooks and Martin are already really good perimeter shooters. That allows Smith to slide to the 3 position, giving us great blocking and D at that spot as well. We could end up with a defensive lineup of: Yao Jordan hill/Patrick Patterson Josh Smith Trevor Ariza Lowry ^That's a defensive lineup that would make JVG squeal with delight. Nobody can score on that team lol. That's not mentioning how our transition game would shoot up through the roof. If we can get him for like Battier/Jeffries and a pick I'm on it.
Would yall do Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, Jared Jeffries, and David Andersen for Josh Smith, Mike Bibby, and get back our own 2013 2nd round draft pick? Sign Brad Miller Yao/B-Rad/Hayes J.Smith/Scola/Hill/Patrick Patterson Ariza/Budinger/Mike Harris K-Mart/Jermaine Bibby/Lowry Then, if we pull off a trade for Bosh (Scola, P-Pat (or Hill), 1 of Knick draft picks, 2013 2nd round draft pick for Bosh and Hedo) Yao/B-Rad/Hayes Bosh/J.Smith/Hill Ariza/Hedo/Mike Harris K-Mart/Budinger/Jermaine Bibby/Lowry/3rd PG
If Lowry can improve enough to replace Bibby when he retires, and if Hedo decides to give his all, we'd be a damn good team.
Josh Smith at the 4 to me is useless. Scola/Patterson/Hill is just fine IMO. Smith may be an upgrade, but not enough given what we have to give up. Josh Smith at the 3, OTOH, would be simply AWESOME. That said, we have no one Atlanta wants outside Yao. And Les isn't going to trade Yao for Smith.
i like him more as a 3 as well... however, i'm not sure how he would fit with yao as he can't spread the floor and plays best near the paint.
Considering Scola, Patterson, and Hill all have a jumpshot, I wouldn't worry about Smith's lack of shooting. To me he would be like Horry on defense, versatile and athletic. Someone who can match up very well against almost anyone.
If Josh Smith could play the 3, the Hawks wouldn't be looking to trade him. At the 4, Scola & Smith really complement each other, but next to Yao, Smith would really have to improve his shooting and I'm not sure he ever can. If he ever did develop a shot, though, he would pretty much be the perfect PF for us. On defense, Yao would take the better low-post scorer and Smith could do what he does best playing the weakside.
What about the surround Yao with shooters theory? Atleast Scola has a decent jumper. what about Josh Smith?
IMO hes more of a Super Small Forward with the ability to play 4.. Id trade Ariza, Shane 2012 Knick pick for Smith... trade Scola+Hill or Patterson for Bosh and sign B Miller to backup Yao Brooks/Lowry Martin/Taylor/Bud Josh/Bud/FA Bosh/Chuck/Hill or Patterson Yao/Miller/Chuck wouldnt be too shabby
