AJC: Treading water in Smith talks

[HawksFan87]

They are playing a dangerous game. Both guys may want to be here now... But after a while. They will both begin to get tired of BK'S crap. And want to leave.....

[Wretch]

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"It's the normal situation," Knight said, "players wanting more than the team is willing to pay. So we'll see how things go [over the summer]. But we certainly like both players and we'd like to keep both players."

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Why would BK say something like this, if it were truly Belkin that was causing the stir? Is there anything to be gained by hiding Belkin's involvement? I suppose there is negative PR to be considered...

"Also, word around the league is that the Hawks ownership squabbles continue to gum up the works as they appear to be reluctant to sign swingman Josh Smith..."

...at the same time, could that be any worse than coming out and saying something like this that is so obviously aimed at the agents? As someone was saying below, the best thing that could have been said was, "We don't have anything to add to this conversation. This is business as usual and negotiations are ongoing..."

Or better yet. Simply..."No comment".

It all leads me to believe BK is actually playing hardball with Smith and his agent. I mean, what has to happen "over the summer" to smooth this out? Signing at least Smoove to an extension seems like a no brainer to me.

[Packfill]

Is $50 million realistic in terms of a new deal for Smoove?

If he improves only a little from last year, then he is an 18 pt, 9.5 rebound, 3 block, 3 assist guy. Those types - particularly when they are still very young and raw - get big money tossed their way. JJ got a max offer from the Hawks and never averaged more then 17 points a game (albeit on a better team so his 17 may be more meaningful).

Seems like he could get a max deal offered to him if he becomes a restricted free agent next year, particularly if he has a good year. $50 million would be a bargain.

[AtLaS]

Was wondering if chillzatl has heard anything else about this situation? I know when he says he hears something from a source, he's usually right. Not too long ago he made a post about Smith was probably going to get an extension this summer.

[AHF]

We need to get a deal done for Smith. That is all there is to it. If we want to wait on Chilldress, there is risk in that but his loss would not devastate the franchise so I would be more accepting of the inability to resign him at this time.

[AnakinJoe]

But if he is asking for $75M over 5 years, then that is too much. I'm hard pressed to hand over a phat check to someone who most recently cursed out his coach. I'm glad to hear that he is working out with Hakeem and Murphy in Houston. But I wouldn't be quick to translate that report into some ridiculous stat projection nor would I ignore the immaturity issues while focusing solely on his performance post-JJ. In fact, I wonder how well he will perform without being the primary ball-handler (which he was during those last 20 games when JJ is hurt).

You know what would be a bad scenario? Marvin has a break-thru season as a legit scorer, Horford is a low-post beast at his natural PF position and we extend Smith in July, 2007 to a huge contract while he gives us a mixed bag of performance and immaturity issues.

Keep him motivated, leave him unsigned during the 07-08 season.

[AtLaS]

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But if he is asking for $75M over 5 years, then that is too much.

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We can't give him 5 years anyway, so that's obviously not even an option.

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You know what would be a bad scenario? Marvin has a break-thru season as a legit scorer, Horford is a low-post beast at his natural PF position and we extend Smith in July, 2007 to a huge contract while he gives us a mixed bag of performance and immaturity issues.

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We have Horford signed for the next 4 years, that's not even a problem. We'll still have Marvin cheap after next year, and Zaza and Childress will probably be gone by then (unless resigned for cheap), and Speedy will be an expiring contract. If Marvin breaks out, resigning him shouldn't be a big problem.

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Keep him motivated, leave him unsigned during the 07-08 season.

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That's just stupid. What if a team offers Smith 5 years, 50 million? We can't match it per the court order even if it is a bargain.

[HawksFan87]

I'm sure Smoove is not being greedy and asking for 75 million dollars. But he does deserve a reasonable amount... Marvin, Salim and Shelden yelled at the coach.. Yet no one wants to mention those situations...... Knight please don't be a IDIOT and do something stupid...

[thesheedera]

BK has every right to negotiate this patiently. Obviously it's in the franchise's best interests to get him locked up, but not at huge crazy premium. The FA period JUST started and we have until October. Josh is one of the most promising young talents but he still carries a level of unrealized potential risk - if that makes any sense. I'm pretty sure he's gonna be a really fantastic pro, but I'm not nearly sure about him as I am about guys like Dwight, Amare (assuming healthy), Wade, Melo, etc.

Josh's agent is playing the game and we'd be naive to think that he doesn't have very selfish mitives for speaking out publicly about this. BK's playing the game too. The agent made a public statement accusing management of basically being thoughtless or incompetent to some degree, and he's respinding by saying the player's asking too much. In other words, hey, we love ya but you're not as good as you think. This is simply what GMs and agents are supposed to do.

If we get to September and there's no progress on a new contract then I'll begin to be worried and I think it'll certainly be worthy of headlines. You want him to feel appreciated and wanted, and by all means you want him playing for your team.

But at this stage this IS the natural course of things. No need to pull the trigger right off the bat unless its at a number that you feel is reasonable.

BKdoes dumb things often, but I don't see how this instance fits into that category this early in the negotiation.

[AHF]

Clearly, Josh shouldn't be asking for 75M at this point but my fear is that he will continue his growth and be able to command a higher premium after next season than he can right now. If he steps his game up another level, it would not shock me to see someone give him a Rashard Lewis deal that we can't afford to match. That is why I think we really need to lock him up now before his value rises even further. I would bank on his continued improvement.

[Seano]

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That is why I think we really need to lock him up now before his value rises even further. I would bank on his continued improvement.

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Well if we can't do that because of the 5 year thing, then the best and only option would be to trade him, right? I mean what else could we do? As I see it, we either let him walk for nothing, or get the best deal possible for him. If he continues his rate of improvement, I'm assuming we could get quite a lot for him. That thought overwhelms my mind with tons of ideas and speculation as to what or who we might be able to get for him, and from whom.

But obviously that's a worst-case scenario. I'd much rather hang onto Smoove, but the reality is that just might not be possible for us to do so given the fubar'ed state of our ownership situation. Barring some miraculous resolution of that, we might have no choice but to let Smoove go.

[KB21]

I really don't think letting him go is in the plans. At this point, Josh Smith is a very marketable player, and the Hawks have been using him to market their new colors and jerseys. They are basically putting him out there as the face of the franchise. It would make very little sense to do all of that and then trade him.

My guess is, the Micheal Gearon Jr./Bruce Levenson part of the ownership group feels that this will get done. The interesting thing to watch is how it gets done.

Extending Josh Smith is clearly in the plans, and the issue is going to be how they can get around Steve Belkin to get this done. Those are my thoughts on the issue.

[BusBoyIsBack]

If we screw this up this will be the biggest botch in Atlanta Sports History since trading Nique.

Actually it would be even WORSE because this guy is TWENTY ONE YEARS OLD

[Seano]

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My guess is, the Micheal Gearon Jr./Bruce Levenson part of the ownership group feels that this will get done. The interesting thing to watch is how it gets done.

Extending Josh Smith is clearly in the plans, and the issue is going to be how they can get around Steve Belkin to get this done. Those are my thoughts on the issue.

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I really hope you're right, dude. The 5 year thing seems an impossibility to get around, but maybe a way can be found. Smoove and his agents would probably have to bend a little bit and be willing to accept just a 4 year deal, or something like that. I don't know. I'm just praying it all works out....

[AHF]

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That is why I think we really need to lock him up now before his value rises even further. I would bank on his continued improvement.

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Well if we can't do that because of the 5 year thing, then the best and only option would be to trade him, right? I mean what else could we do? As I see it, we either let him walk for nothing, or get the best deal possible for him. If he continues his rate of improvement, I'm assuming we could get quite a lot for him. That thought overwhelms my mind with tons of ideas and speculation as to what or who we might be able to get for him, and from whom.

But obviously that's a worst-case scenario. I'd much rather hang onto Smoove, but the reality is that just might not be possible for us to do so given the fubar'ed state of our ownership situation. Barring some miraculous resolution of that, we might have no choice but to let Smoove go.

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We can resign him for 4 years or less. If a 3 year deal was good enough for Lebron then I don't see why a 4 year deal wouldn't be possible.

[thesheedera]

So what's his value now? Will 4 years at $40 million make everyone happy and allow us to resign at least one of Marvin/Childress, hopefully both?

I agree that he needs to be extended before training camp, and the sooner the better. I just think this has become a "story" because his agent knows its in his best interest to capitalize off the terrible reputation for incompetence that the ownership and management have built for themselves, and speak out about how the Hawks are either a) dumb and don't recognize his value, b) plain old cheap or c) incapable of making clear decisions and taking directive course of action.

While I agree that all three of those are strong possibilities, I don't agree that taking a patient approach with the Josh Smith negotiation is indicative of any of those things. Losing him may very well be the biggest mistake since Nique, and if so then signing him must be one of the most crucial moves this franchise has ever made. No need to rush the signing. Take your time and get this one right. Lose him and we lose arguably our best talent. Overpay him and we could lose our other talented players.

I think we'll find the sweetspot. Josh understands as well as anyone that the ownership creates problems. He wants to be a Hawk, we can afford him if he's reasonable. A 3 or 4 year deal has precedence with Bron and Wade (and Melo?), so it would be no insult to Josh.

They need to get this done, but they gotta do it right.

[AtLaS]

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Was wondering if chillzatl has heard anything else about this situation? I know when he says he hears something from a source, he's usually right. Not too long ago he made a post about Smith was probably going to get an extension this summer.

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[chillzatl]

haven't heard anything else. if forwarded the article along to my source to see what they thought of it, but haven't heard anything back yet.

[AHF]

I think a contract along the lines of what Wallace got in Charlotte - something in the 4 years, 40 million range would be fair. You give him some huge money now with the promise for even more after the expiration of the contract if things work out in the meantime.

[AtLaS]

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haven't heard anything else. if forwarded the article along to my source to see what they thought of it, but haven't heard anything back yet.

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Ok cool, thanks.