Where should J-Smoove go?Josh Smith is far and away the biggest name on the free agent market right now. Last night, J-Smoove had dinner in Los Angeles with Mike Dunleavy on Donald Sterling’s dime. The Warriors are supposedly hounding Smith’s agent Rob Pelinka, ringing his phone off the hook. And before the Elton Brand signing, the Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter put the city on hold to sit down with Smith last week.
With your choice of Golden State, Los Angeles, Atlanta, or (much less money) in Philadelphia, what move do you make if you’re Josh Smith? Here’s what each squad can offer the 22 year old phenom…
LA Clippers - Picture this: Running the break with Baron Davis, Al Thornton on the other wing, and Eric Gordon trailing for a spot-up jumper. Now imagine doing that for another five good years. Off the court, J-Smoove can live the L.A. life with a fat paycheck, as the Clippers have boatloads of cap room - enough to offer him a deal that would make the Hawks think twice about matching.
Golden State - In all likeliness the finances won’t work out here. Corey Maggette just jumped on board for a rumored five-year $50 million deal. Monta Ellis will be signed for whatever he wants, which is in the same $10 million per year neighborhood. That leaves about $8 million in cap room to take care of Andris Biedrins and add a point guard to back up Monta now that he’s been announced as Nellie’s starting one. The Clippers just renounced the rights to Shaun Livingston…
Atlanta - Smith is already revered as a hometown hero in the ATL. But here’s his chance to have strangers come up to him on the street to say “thanks.” And there’s no pricetag you can put on that. That being said, Smith’s contract could be an issue here. If he’s adamant about being paid over $10 million per year, he could end up eating dollars, which Hawks’ management want to use to keep Josh Childress. Realistically, Atlanta probably doesn’t want to pay more than $8 million a year for ‘08-09 if they intend to stay under the cap and keep Childress too.
On the court, the Hawks clearly have a strong nucleus with Smith, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Al Horford and Mike Bibby. But both the Clippers (now with Baron) and Warriors run a style better suited to get Smith on SportsCenter every night.
If you’re Josh Smith, where would you sign?
Related posts:
July 10th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
alaskan_fire_dragon says:
clips
July 10th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
JHov says:
I for one hopes J-Smooth stays in ATL..they got something special going but if he does leave..GSW would be a perfect fit for his style but only if the Warriors make that rumored trade of Al Harrington for Bulls Kirk Hinrich..to free up room at the 4 spot and give them a true point
July 10th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
doc says:
He should get a sign and trade to Philly for Willie Green,Thad Young or Iggy and Kevin ollie.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
yallallreadyknow says:
is it just me or do all the options seem alike? except for philly….
since the court product (lineups) seem similar everywhere, might as well stay in ATL than to go to teams that didnt even make the playoffs last year.
but it would be a nice la story if he wound up with the clips.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Jim says:
Pushed the champs to 7 with my hometown team? That’s a pretty good line right there…but if LA blows the ATL money away, then you have to consider it, obviously. But also the Hawks have new management, while Clips is Clips.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Kobeef says:
Josh can look down the road and see a nice core of Thorton, DeAndre Jordan, BoomDizzle, Kaman.
GS looks like a team that is about to implode. Especially if they are giving Spagetti $50 million.
Atlanta is still missing a center (horford is a PF) and a PG after Bibby leaves. With Brand in the east and Raptors, Jersey, New York, Milwaukee and Indiana all making big roster changes the Hawks are just as likely to miss the playoffs next year.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Homeless J says:
If I’m Josh Smith? I take whoever throws the most cash at me. (basically I do that if I’m any NBA player. which I’m not.)
if I’m me, in the shoes of Josh Smith? I’d stay in ATL and build on last year’s playoffs. and spend the summer trying to fix my broken jumpshot. I still don’t see the clips doing much beyond either barely getting into the playoffs or maybe winning a series in a huge upset even if they do get josh. I’d rather see them try and snatch Emeka away from NC.
there needs to be a “IF YOU WERE FRED JONES, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?” discussion. for instance I would buy advertising space on a billboard and have it be a picture of me dunking and the words “I’M FRED JONES. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO ME.” or I would show up to random street courts while other people are in the middle of a game and just run up and snatch the ball away and dunk it and yell “I’M FRED JONES, BITCH” while running away and giggling.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
aaron says:
stay. no other situation is better then atl right now
July 10th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Homeless J says:
if I was Fred Jones I’d take whatever NBA money he might still have saved and buy a loading truck, like a Wal-Mart truck with the big box on the bag, and have a basketball hoop installed on the back.
then I would drive around town until I see news cameras (like at accidents, doing an interview in a public place, wherever the news happens to be at), park in plain view of the camera (like right behind the news lady), and just do a bunch of dunks in the background. if they get annoyed and move the cameras, move the truck.
I’d also probably spraypaint FRED JONES all over the truck, especially on the back, so the cameras would see it.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
ERIC says:
We all hate on NBA players for taking the money but we should all ask ourselves: If you were asked to re-locate from your job to a different city for a considerable raise (e.g. you are making $50,000 per year and would get a raise to $250,000 per year) wouldnt you do it?
Yes there are extenuating circumstances, having to move families, etc., but J-Smoove is only 22, no kids (I think) and is at the point in his life where he can move.
He should sign the contract that would make him the happiest. In most cases for players (and people), the higher the salary, the better-off they feel. Ideally he would strike the balance between best situation (being in the East, at home, up-and-coming team) while being paid what he feels is fair market value for his abilities.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
shake&bake says:
I would like to see him in the big city for exposure but the problem is that the Clip Show will always be 2nd to the Lakers. But it would be fun to watch the Clippers with their potential lineup with Josh Smith thrown in there.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
James says:
I would stay in ATL
July 10th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
jnuh says:
Why are people talking like ATL actually did something last year besides get lucky against the Celtics a couple of times.
THEY MADE THE PLAYOFFS WITH A SUB .500 RECORD.
Jesus.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Willy Beamin says:
Take Philly and contend next year…J-Smooth pluds all the rights spots for the Sixers, esp now with brand. He’s a slashing finisher with decent spot-up game. Could you imagine him, brand and dalembert swatting everything? Or Andre miller feeding him or AIggy on the run? All that team would need is more dead eye shooters and maybe another wing scorer and that’s top5.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Celts Fan, "Kobe, Tell me how my @$$ tastes" says:
Take the $ from whoever offers you the most money. No question. The 2 teams after him would be a great fit for him and if Atlanta matches either of their offers, then he still made the most $. It’s not like there’s a crap city thrown in there. Take the highest offer and see what Atlanta does. Seems like there’s no bad result for him…
July 10th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
shake&bake says:
That’s true, Philly would probably average 47 blocks per game with those 3.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Celts Fan, "Kobe, Tell me how my @$$ tastes" says:
*when i say the 2 teams, I’m thinking LAC and GS, excluding Philly and assuming they resign Iggy and thus take themselves (realistically) out of the JSmooth chase.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Truth says:
It all just depends on whether he wants to win or get paid. He could try and go to a place where he can do both. I REALLY do believe that the clippers have enough cap space to acquire Smith AND okafer
they pay kaman and Mobley 9 mil a season and tim thomas 6 mil, right now they are sitting at 28 mil, signing davis cost you 13 mil, putting you at 41, give smith and okafer 10 and you at 61, the clips would be over the cap space a little but not to bad, put some surrounding peices in their for the bench and you got a squad. The clips may have to scare off the hawks and bobcats with slightly higher salaries but it could work?
July 10th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
D'Antonio says:
I don’t understand. Anytime you read an article, people explain that the NBA is a business and good GMs are expected to behave this way.
But when a player starts putting good business sense over “loyalty”, all of the sudden he’s the worst person on earth…
It’s either one or the other, but it can’t be both (otherwise players will be repeatedly screwed).
With that said, I say JSmoove jumps to the Clips. Atl can’t afford to pay him big bucks because they would have no cash to improve the team, hence Atl would remain a mediocre team for years to come.
The Clips on the other hand have a real superstar (BoomDizzle) some shooters and a few bigs that would fit perfectly with Jsmoove’s game.
I hope the Clips throw enough money at him.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Celts Fan, "Kobe, Tell me how my @$$ tastes" says:
no it couldn’t truth. They can’t sign FAs that put them over the cap. You have to have their Bird rights to do that (or a big trade exception.)
and I think wherever Josh goes, he’ll be in a position to win.
If it’s Philly, he replaces Iggy and they are a solid team in the East.
If it’s LA, a taem of Baron, Mobley/Gordon, Josh, Al Thornton, and Kaman will win some games.
If it’s GS, he’s running w/ Monta, SJack, Maggette, Biedrins, Brandon Wright (we’re sure Nelly’s actually gonnna give the kid a chance this year, right? He’s got boatloads of talent)
If it’s Atlanta, they’ve already proven they’re on the rise.
He’s in a great situation to cash in AND win games.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
rangerjohn says:
if i was j smith i would say screw the money and ask to be signed by the spurs for 3/4 of the midlevel exception so i get the change to play with parker,manu,duncan and bowen before the core is broken up in the next 2 yrs.
SO THERE how you like that!
July 10th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Jah says:
Now that Elton Brand is in Philadelphia, a possible line up including:
Andre Miller
Andre Igoudala
Josh Smith
Elton Brand
Samuel Dalembert
—
Lou Williams
Willie Green
Thad Young
…is quite enticing.
But I say, stay with the Hawks.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Buffalo Brave says:
He’s not going anywhere, he cant be that stupid.
Bibby’s $14 million comes off the books after next season, money isnt an issue or at least it shouldnt be.
And he’d be stupid to leave ATL unless he just really WANTS to.
Im curious as to how the hawks havent signed or even made him an offer yet.
Who’s in charge there anyway?
July 10th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
D.H. says:
Clips. And I still find it hard to believe that Josh is only 22 years old. Seems like he’s been around longer than that. He arguably still has is best 5 years infront of him.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Baron Davis says:
Go get your money, Josh!
July 10th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Franchise Baller says:
Sign and Trade to Philly. Andre,Andre,Josh, and Elton??!
July 10th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
cbizzle says:
If I were Josh Smith, I wouldn’t go to Philly. The frontcourt is a wee bit crowded with Thad Young, Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert(however you spell it) and way less money. Golden State’s style fits but they don’t have the talent right now. I’d go to the Clips. They’d have a core of Boom-Dizzle, Josh Smith, Kaman, Eric Gordon and Al Thornton. They’d need to work on their depth, and they’ve made roster moves to clear up cap space and roster spots. Not to mention they could put together a contract that Atlanta would think twice about matching.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Jim says:
lol rangerjohn, I’m also holding out for that rarely mentioned 4th option.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
rangerjohn says:
thought you guys would like this article
its about the new team name options for the sonics well the team formerly known as the sonics
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Poll-What-should-Oklahoma-City-s-team-name-be-?urn=nba,92948
July 10th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ ranger
lol. nice but Smoove is only 22 so he can’t be feedin his family on a midlevel but….he can get all his money from ATL in a sign and trade with my Lakers. hawks sign Smoove for 10-12 mill then trade him to LA for Odom and maybe Vujacic. Smoove gets his money, Hawks get a versatile forward and a shooter back and the Lakers get a wing to put us over the top
July 10th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
hahns says:
if i were him id leave atl. its a toss up bt clips and philly, and if it was me, id go to clips
July 10th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
jace says:
they started rolling in atlanta. so normally i would say stay with the team who gave you your first chance. but.. if the money isn’t there, clips look pretty good right now.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Mike says:
I know I’m going to get ripped for this one, but is there any chance the W’s don’t resign Ellis and just go after Smith?
Look at the Maggette signing. Maggette pretty much duplicates what you get from Ellis:
Corey Maggette 2008 Stats: 22.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.7 APG
Career stats: 16.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.2 APG
Monta Ellis 2008 Stats: 20.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.9 APG
Career Stats: 15.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.4 APG
Both are SGs. Both are injury prone to a degree (don’t forget about Ellis’ balky knee that has forced him to wear that blue knee brace).
Maggette is older, but also bigger.
Ellis is young, but under-sized to the point that the W’s need a large PG to cover SGs on defense.
The W’s have tried to convert Ellis to PG before and it hasn’t worked.
So, with the Maggette signing, it makes sense for the W’s to go after someone who fills a need (i.e. Power Forward or Point Guard) instead of resigning Ellis.
So, let’s say the W’s snag Josh Smith and pull off the much rumored Al Harrington for Kirk Heinrich deal. Then resign Andris Bierdrins. And let someone else deal with designing a team around Ellis. The W’s line-up would be:
PG - Kirk Heinrich
SG - Corey Maggette
SF - Stephen Jackson
PF - Josh Smith
C - Andris Bierdrins
Plus, the W’s might have some room to sign a back up or two (they’re supposedly talking with Ronny Turiaf, I’d also like to see them try to snag one of the Cav PGs - Boobie or Delonte West).
I like that team a lot better than the projected:
PG - Monta Ellis (playing out of position)
SG - Corey Maggette
SF - Stephen Jackson
PF - Al Harrington (who shows up for maybe half of the games)
C - Andris Bierdrins
Which line-up would you prefer?
July 10th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
K Dizzle says:
Mike
you’d really trade a 22 yr old who’s not anything close to his prime so Corey Maggette could average 22, 5 , and 2 for a team not even goin to the playoffs?
Warriors need to just shut down the stupid spendin and just wait til next season when there’ll be free agents all over the place unless they can get J Smoove right now
July 10th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Jim says:
Mike, you shouldn’t get ripped because it was intelligent and thought-out, but I can’t agree. The way Monta and Maggette get their numbers is the problem. Ellis is really, really efficient and doesn’t HAVE to have isos and clearouts, though he kills on those. And he got those numbers playing 65 games with Baron.
Maggette is the opposite of efficient and kills his team’s half-court rhythm, and he didn’t have anyone taking his points on the Clips this year, though his numbers are always good.
I hadn’t heard about the Heinrich-Harrington trade, and I don’t see why GS would go for it. Heinrich was really good two years ago, but he hasn’t shown that he can do it. I don’t know why you trade B+ inconsistent big for a B- inconsistent small.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Truth says:
@Celts
you right, I ain’t think about that. I guess no okafer and J smoove together. LOL!!
@Rangerjohn
you are crazy!! LOL!! IF it was you, you would go and get your money, if dude gets injured that’s it. Forget that mid level crazy talk! I agree he should go where he should win, but he should still get paid!
July 10th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Mike says:
I’m going to go ahead and say that any team with Ellis at PG isn’t going to make the playoffs. He is like a rich man’s Mo Williams.
But, still, I would rather have Ellis over Maggette. The W’s just made a completely asinine signing when they got Maggette who duplicates what Ellis does already.
I was basing my strategy on the idea that the W’s want to be able to at least compete now and still be able to compete later (in my situation, they have 22 y.o. Josh Smith, and 21 y.o. Bierdrins).
July 10th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Ted DiBiase says:
He’ll sign in any team I take the ownership of. Cos money talks, b*tches !
July 10th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
D says:
take a different route. Sign a 1 year deal and try and strike it rich with a major team next year.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Celts Fan, "Kobe, Tell me how my @$$ tastes" says:
@Truth, we can all dream. Hell, mine just came true last month…
July 10th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
MSkittle says:
Stay in ATL. They have a bright future and showed it against the Celtics in the first round.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
rangerjohn says:
see guys THAT is why i am not smith lmao
cause i would go to the spurs for what ever money they offer lol. oh well. back to my self made millions now lmao
July 10th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Heavy D says:
Atlanta and I don’t get the 8M limit you arbitrarily set there. 8M starting is approximately what the Hawks offered last summer prior to a good a year and impressive playoff series. An increase in the offer was obvious and necessary. If he would ink for a 10M starting salary right now I’m sure the Hawks would do it and move on.
The only thing that might make them pause is a max deal, and even then I think they match and try to replace Childress if necessary.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Jim says:
Ted DiBiase and no “Every man has his price”? I hated that SOB. If this were 1987 Virgil would be hitting Donald Sterling over the head with a steel chair, spilling both his martini and his toupee.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Raps FAN says:
Josh Smith to the CLIPPERS
PG
PG - B-DIDDY
SG - ANYONE THAT CAN HIT A THREE
F - JOSH SMITH
F - AL THORNTON
C - CHRIS KAMAN
They’ll be better than the clippers and be better than denver defensively.. they’ll make it into the playoffs
July 10th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
word says:
damn the mayor of philly goin all out like that damn… go to the 6ers son
July 10th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
tim says:
He should get sign-and-traded to Detroit…
July 10th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
mavid says:
LOL. Josh Smith has “home team” TATOOED on his body. He ain’t going anywhere.
Of course he is trying to get a big offer that ATL is forced to match… the dude wants his money. But, at the end of the day, if they’re all offering the same amount of money, he’d want to stay in his hometown (which he reps HARD).
That said, the Clips (or any other team) would be crazy to max him out. He’s just not worth that contract yet.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Ocka says:
it’s not that people hate on players that take the big check with a new team, it’s when the same player says one thing, like “i’m going to re-sign with my current team” in the press and then totally jumps ship and signs for big dollars elsewhere. be a f*cking man about it and say, “i’m going to look at all options” or “sh*t, i’ll sign with whoever pays me the most”. its just plain dirty and therefor breeds the hate.
Is Josh Smith really that good though? Great defense, albeit mostly weak side help but so limited on offense. Needs a fast break team to succeed. Move west is on the cards.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Ding Dong We Got Danilo Gallinari? says:
If you put yourself in his shoes, does Josh Smith want to join the warriors or clippers after spending years with the hawks clawing their way back into relevance? Start all over again with a shaky team? Whatever happens, we’ll find out whether he is an Elton or a Gilbert (bad example, but the most current).
July 10th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Luigi says:
well J-Smooove shud stay in ATL. i mean no one ever pays attension 2 the clips unless this FA market. but smoove would make ATL a force for hmm about next 5-6 yrs.
but if he had 2 go. i think he shud go to the GSW. bkuz liek Nelly ball consists of F-breaks n running alot. so if J-smoove was dunking all over ppl. hed get a max when hes like 27-28.
but 4 the clips. im sorry 4 ur frnchise u shud just move to Seattle
but with Baron n Gordon im not really sold on baron as a passer. yet n i kno gordon can score. Thorton can shooot n he can play 3 or 4. but J-smoove would naturally play the 3-4. n Caveman as 5
but just stay in ATL plz
July 10th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
mario says:
josh smith to the cavs
July 10th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Ding Dong We Got Danilo Gallinari? says:
Smith to the cavs would just work out great. They will then have two forwards with shaky shooting games (and whom think they are a better shooter than they really are), no low post moves/threat and generally a predictable offensive game.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
djKianoosh says:
if the warriors don’t want Ellis, the Sixers should mo’ definilly go get him. that kind of speed on the sixers would be crazy.
July 11th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
VoiceofReason says:
I’d love for him to sign with the Lakers. However, If I’m Josh Smith Im heading back to my hometown Philly to pair up with AI, Brand, Andre Miller.
July 12th, 2008 at 3:03 am
Steve says:
If I was Josh Smith…
I’d want to be a starting PF, so I wouldn’t sign with Philly. Golden State is in a bit of a mess right now…
My choices would be stay with Atlanta or go to the Clippers.
July 13th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
mavid says:
Again, the ONLY way that Smoove leaves ATL is if another team offers him an outrageous contract that the Hawks wont match. The Clips is the ONLY team that can do that.
Why is Josh gonna leave his hometown to play for another team for less money?
It`s either the Hawks or the Clips. As an ATL native, Id be absolutely outraged if Smoove is wearing a freakin Clippers uni next year.