Let's Make A Dream... err, Deal: Josh Smith to the Suns

at least wait till trade deadline.

Yet, IF the Suns want a stronger PF, then I think Josh Smith fits our team like a glove.

Dumping JRICH now kind of ruins the whole depth/flexibility thing….i like Smith a lot and I like the deal except it leaves Childress as the starting 2 and forces Hedo to spend significant time there in Rich’s place, since he’s the only other option on the roster. I also like selling high on Rich, although I think his postseason play will carry over to this season and he’ll have a great year.

but i get you’re just having fun with this.

 Clark has the talent and physical ability to be something pretty dang great. It’s just what’s going on in his head (or lack thereof) that’s limiting him. I don’t think Warrick at his age will “development” more…

Obviously it’s way to early to predict, but Lawal could be a huge beast and a huge 2nd round steal…Obviously one never knows what can happen in a player’s future development.

JRich is a bigger question. He would certainly be a nice deadline trade piece, especially if the Suns have no plans to resign him…If he wants more money, I would think they’d try to get some value for him instead of letting him walk. But if he’s willing to sign a 2-3 year deal for reasonable money, and the Suns are in the thick of the playoff hunt, maybe you hang on to him.

The guys you mention might develop as you hope, but we can also get a better gauge on Childress. My concern is that we’ll be under-utilizing Childress as J-Rich’s backup. Trading J-Rich might be more about the fact that Childress needs more minutes than it is about our PFs failing.

His stats look good – tell us about him, and tell us how we’d get him.

I’m starting to warm to the idea of Josh Smith – I didn’t realize he was only 23. But he’s pretty expensive.

and wow is he a beast, and only 24. Very few players can put up 15 ppg, 9 rpg, 4, apg, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, I knew he was good but not this good. He would be an amazing fit for us contributing in all aspects of the game, he is young, athletic, plays good defense, I’m still hesitant about giving up JRich unless all signs point to him not resigning, but I would love for Smith to be on the team.

meaning revenue went up, while the MLE went down meaning average salaries are already down.

those 2 things, along with spending spree this summer, kinda kills the whole ‘bleeding money’ argument by the owners.

I do see a long lockout though, but I’m not really seeing forced player dumps happening.

Assuming a lockout takes out all of next year (unlikely right?) and significantly changes the CBA, would you rather have:
A. Josh Smith at $25M for 2 years
B. Turkoglu at $34M over 3 years ($28M guaranteed)
C. Frye and Childress at ~ $50M over 4 years

They don’t exactly suck.

QRich led the league in 3-pters (averaged 8 attempts per game), but only made 35% of them. Shawn marion jacked up 4.2 per game, and only made 33%.

just to put this in perspective.

Turk, Childress, Duds, Dragic, Nash and Frye all average >= 36% for their careers.

is the fact that our “bargain” guys are starting to look really enticing to other teams. We can mix and match trade deals a lot because our guys have done well. 2 years ago this was exactly the opposite. We had nothing to trade and no assests that weren’t Nash and STAT. Things are looking up for us in the long run.

if Atlanta gets another center

and/or

if/when Atlanta wants money to keep Al Horford

A three team that gives Atlanta a center or PG (or both) would make Atlanta fans happier though.

They like Al Horford better as a PF (and they should), and Smith doesn’t do SF or C well.

Smith’s contract is excessive for a backup, and Atlanta needs money, thanks to JJ.

Because from all I read, Atlanta absolutely intends on playing Horford at the 4 as soon as they get a true center and move Josh Smith for value.

PF is a more natural position for Horford, and they think (correctly) that he’ll excel there even more.

That’s like the time when we were playing Amare at C. It’s true that we wouldn’t move him to a 4, but only for as long as we had only options for replacing him at the 5. Once that went away, he wen’t to the 4 quickly.

but I think its just like when the Suns said they wanted Amare at the 5. you say that till you have a better option.

so Sarver is hedging his bets with Childress, just in case Duds wants too much money or someone frontloads a huge contract offer. Also gives Suns some leverage in extension talks this fall.

Dragic on the other hand… Suns have a team option for 2011-2012, so he’s really not at risk until the summer after. but the longer we wait, the more we pay, I think.

Like with Amar’e – better to get something than nothing. I don’t think anyone here actually has the authority to trade him – but I could be wrong. Alex?

but as haremoor says below, it would be nice to get something for him. Plus there is a kernel of truth to the rebounding fear.

because jRich does a lot more, IMO.

I’d only move JRich for a true, starting-caliber PF.

Screwed knees… really screwed kness.,…

He will probably take money over us.

He’s not rich enough or old enough to start valuing rings and legacy over dolla dolla bills, y’all.

he will be a restricted free agent, if I remember correctly, and Atlanta would (and should) move mountains to match any offer sheet.

But sure, if Horford is available? He’s generally even better than Josh Smith. Problem is, everyone with money knows this already.

but who’s minutes would taht player take? we already have 10 guys who deserve 20+ minutes a night and there are only 240 minutes in a game.

And that was without Nash feeding him in a pick and roll.

And with a center that was more of a go to big than he was, in Al Horford.

Obviously there are problems with direct comparison of their numbers, but don’t be alarmed.

Josh Smith can score.

There was a SnT offer from Cleveland, and an unofficial offer for a straight up FA signing by Atlanta for the MLE, before they backed out over luxury concerns.

Atlanta is still searching for a center. This isn’t all about Shaq.

I agree that a 3-way trade involving Harris the Nets is unlikely, but if they are cutting salaries, swapping Harris for Richardson is one way to do it. Harris has $27M left over 3 years, while Richardson’s $14M contract expires this year.

but that’s just a guess, based on his tweets and stuff from last summer. he’s changed a lot since then and become a major part of this team.

I’m okay either way. I’d only trade him for a bona-fide PF. otherwise, stick with what we got.

using JRich and/or a combo of players at the trade deadline, but I’m not really excited about either. If the Suns acquired those guys, I’d find a way to get excited. but until then, I’m not.

Murphy is a tree on defense. We thought Shaq was bad…

West is somehow 94 yrs old. I don’t know what it is, but he seems like a product of his system more than a talent.

Sorry, those are irrational opinions.

I just think they are being pragmatic. A championship team has Horford at the PF position. He could be one of the very best in the game at PF. Conversely, their PG play is terrible, and you can’t go far without a good PG running the show and creating opportunities for the rest of the squad.

Add in the fact that Horford is a restricted free agent next year, do they really want to Josh Smith and Horford 10+ mil for several years starting in 2011, knowing that one of them is out of position? Their salaries, along with Joe Johnson’s max deal, would preclude the hawks from dramatic upgrades at the C and PG spots for several years unless they got lucky in the draft.

So if you’re Atlanta, you might starting thinking about ways level out your roster/rotation. Just as the Suns need to consider their overload at SF.

I agree that Clark will take a bit longer. he’s a guy whose “light” needs to come on one day.

He’s one of those guys who tantalizes you with his athleticism, but then lets you down because he doesn’t have the mental part. 3 years of big-time college basketball under Rick Pitino and a year-plus on the Suns and he’s still a fundamentally poor player who looks lost on the floor? WTF? Guys come out of HS and are less raw than he is after all that coaching. The best case projection for Clark is a Lamar Odom type, but Odom was a productive 20-year old NBA rookie, scoring 17 PPG. Clark is 22, and can’t even produce that in the summer league! Maybe he’s a late bloomer, but my eyes tell me he just doesn’t have it.

and there you just supported my theory that Josh Smith will be moved for a better talent at the 1 or 5 position.

Another option with GS in the middle of a 3-way is Andris Biedrins instead of Monta Ellis.

He seems too methodical, lumbering

we’re looking for a highly paid PF with a too-long contract on a bad team that wants to dump him to start over. By Feb… makes me a bit sad… for Amare… that he fits the description so well

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Considering that the Timberwolves are seeking little beyond cap relief in return, don’t be surprised to see Sessions moved soon.

In Related

Another player who seems to be the odd man out in Minnesota is center Ryan Hollins. He had his moments last season, playing especially well during the team’s season-long five-game winning streak, but with the re-signing of Darko Milicic and the addition of Nikola Pekovic it seems likely Hollins will be moved.

Sounds like the Timberwolves might be on board with something like this.

Plus he’s got a great postgame. Seriously this looks like a huge steal by the Suns. A projected first round pick managing to drop to the 2nd round and getting scooped up by us. It’s our version of DeJuan Blair.

I think Horford is the guy I’d like more than anybody in the league – but if he’s their franchise player, we probably won’t get him.

They can’t go to rebuilding mode after JJ’s giant contract, so resigning Al Horford must be a priority for them.

They are able, willing, and likely will offer more money than anyone else, even if they have to dump another player (like they did Childress) to find the money, and Horford will gladly accept. Young players chase money first, and Horford is just coming out of his rookie contract.

If they let Horford go in order to avoid luxury tax after signing Johnson to that insane contract, then already angry Atlanta fans will burn their management at the stake. They’ll trade for expiring contracts before paying the luxury tax, and they’ll pay the luxury tax before losing Horford to free agency.

But sure, if he’s available, he’s generally better than Smith.

The only problem is, he just won’t be.

Getting Josh Smith is within the realm of possibility. Trying now, instead of at the trade deadline, will give the Suns more time to become a cohesive team and prepare for the post season. With few exceptions, big trades mid season usually hurt in the short term.

Unless the Hawks completely whiff on finding a center by the trade deadline, I doubt Smith is staying in Atlanta for all of next season. It would be nice if we were the ones who found a way to hit that small jackpot while it was available.

its hard to make a trade midseason and have it work all the way to the Finals. Though, the Lakers did it 3 Finals ago. We need our “Gasol” moment.

*Josh Smith does not rebound better than Amare and the stats bear that out.

He was two tenths of a rebound less than Amare per game last year (8.9 vs 8.7rpg).

That was while playing behind Horford at center, who averaged 10 rebounds in 35 minutes, while, by comparison, both of our centers together took 48 minutes to combine for 10. Amare probably had quite a few more opportunities per game.

What’s important is that he rebounds almost twice as well as Turkoglu and Warrick. Literally.

does it actually work under the cap? did you try the espn trade machine? If so, bravo.

the only (big) problem is getting 4 different teams to agree at the same time that they aren’t the one getting screwed over.