Sekou on Smith for Gasol rumors

[JackB1]

This is a very tough call without having a crystal ball to see into the future. On one hand, I LOVE the idea of Gasol at the 5 and Horfy at the 4. But on the other hand, I love our current mix of young guys all improving together and Smoove is in that mix. He is so fun to watch and his blocking ability is uncanny. I agree we DO need a solid #5, because Horf will be great as the #4. I'm just not sure giving up a player with Smith's talent and future potential is the way to get there.

I would much prefer a package of Zaza, Sheldon, T.Lue and Chills for Gasol, but that ain't gonna happen.

[Vol4ever]

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I haven't watched Gasol much the past couple of years but the people who have don't seem to impressed with him.

I know northcyde watches him quite a bit and doesn't seem the least bit interested in trading for him. MemphisX obviously sees him a lot and said flat out it would be stupid for the Hawks to trade Smith for Gasol.

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Well I get the memphis games and watch him too and I'm none too impressed. He plays zero defense. On the other hand I am not sure about JSmith either and it evolves around his attitude. I hope it gets better with age.

[Diesel]

It's a line from Fletch.

I do use it from time to time... with Exodus.

[Nicholasp27]

ugh @ still wanting to trade smoove for gasol

smoove may never pan out into the all-world player he could become, but if he does, then we have a legit shot at contending in a few years

we aren't contending with gasol in a few years

we have a great interior duo right now; why mess that up?

we hold opp centers to lowest scoring of any team; sometimes that's horford, sometimes smoove

smoove has been playing more controlled this year and will only get better, hopefully

[Diesel]

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ugh @ still wanting to trade smoove for gasol

smoove may never pan out into the all-world player he could become, but if he does, then we have a legit shot at contending in a few years

we aren't contending with gasol in a few years

we have a great interior duo right now; why mess that up?

we hold opp centers to lowest scoring of any team; sometimes that's horford, sometimes smoove

smoove has been playing more controlled this year and will only get better, hopefully

I'm not pushing for Smoove for Gasol.

I think I have said several times that Smoove is our transition defense and not easily replaced.

I'm just saying that it's not a foolish thought. It actually makes sense in some perspectives.

I would much rather do Marvin for Gasol.

However, for Sekou to say that the people who said Smith for Gasol was foolish or whatever terminology he used... I think it's just shortsided and for him riding the moment. JJ would benefit greatly from a low post offensive player like Gasol. And Gasol benefits from outside scorers like JJ.

[Traceman]

The only players 22 or younger that I would consider to be better than Smoove right now are Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Al Jefferson. Durant might be better than Smoove one day and Luol Deng and Rudy Gay are in the conversation when comes to who is better between them and Smoove. That said, if any of you were the GMs of the teams of those players, how many of you would trade any of them for Gasol? I wouldn't trade any of those guys for Gasol and I wouldn't trade Smoove for him either.

As for salary, even if we have to max Smoove out, we will be paying him $2M LESS/yr in the first 3 years of the deal than we would have to pay Gasol. More than likely though, Smoove will NOT get the max and we will end up giving him a deal that starts around $11M-$12M a season. That is considerably less than the $15+M Gasol will make beginning in 08/09. If we are supposedly going to struggle to resign both Smoove and Chillz, how are we supposed to keep Smoove if we trade for Gasol?

[Diesel]

Your hypotheticals are bad...

you say...

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he only players 22 or younger that I would consider to be better than Smoove right now are Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Al Jefferson. Durant might be better than Smoove one day and Luol Deng and Rudy Gay are in the conversation when comes to who is better between them and Smoove. That said, if any of you were the GMs of the teams of those players, how many of you would trade any of them for Gasol? I wouldn't trade any of those guys for Gasol and I wouldn't trade Smoove for him either.

That's a terrible hypothetical because you never mention what you have on the team.

If you have a team with Smoove and Marvin and Rudy Gay on it... but no Center and somebody says hey.... Gasol for Rudy. Guess what, I'm going to seriously consider getting Gasol for Rudy.

I'm not saying go ahead with Smoove for Gasol... it's simply a matter of defense. However, there are some considerations which makes this trade discussable.

#1. What's the true contract situation with Smoove?? Does it look like he's going to resign with us.

#2. We know he's going to cost us more than 10 Mill per... how much more?

#3. How likely is it that if we resign Smoove, that either we develop or we find a low post scorer?

#4. How strong can this team be as is with only development being the thing that changes?

#5. What type of lockerroom presence does Smoove have?

I think Sekou is full of it when he says that it's a point not worth discussion. You can't look at players in a vaccuum with their stats only. You have to look at players, situations, and the team. However, the most important of these is the team.

[DJlaysitup]

The elephant in the corner of the room that nobody talks much about (in the AJC that is) is the ownership mess. My guess is a few other teams are looking at the Hawks like a shark looks at a wounded prey fish. Some team is going to make a play for Josh Smith and that will drive his price up for us to match...if the ASG will (I think they have to).

But that's a little OT...the main problem with the ownership mess right now is our ability to make a move of any consequence to improve our chances at a successful playoff run this year.

[Diesel]

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The elephant in the corner of the room that nobody talks much about (in the AJC that is) is the ownership mess. My guess is a few other teams are looking at the Hawks like a shark looks at a wounded prey fish. Some team is going to make a play for Josh Smith and that will drive his price up for us to match...if the ASG will (I think they have to).

But that's a little OT...the main problem with the ownership mess right now is our ability to make a move of any consequence to improve our chances at a successful playoff run this year.

Don't look now, but Philly has 20 million under the cap.. and if they move Miller to Miami for ending contracts and a first.. Watch out.. They will make a strong pitch at Smoove.

[Traceman]

do any of the teams of the other players I mentioned. Besides, Horford is every bit as much of a Center as Gasol and arguably MORE of one defensively.

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#1. What's the true contract situation with Smoove?? Does it look like he's going to resign with us.

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Even if we have to match a max offer, it will significantly cheaper to resign him than it will be to pay Gasol's salary.

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#2. We know he's going to cost us more than 10 Mill per... how much more?

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See above.

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#3. How likely is it that if we resign Smoove, that either we develop or we find a low post scorer?

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I think that Horford, Marvin and Smoove will all continue to develop as quality options in the low post.

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#4. How strong can this team be as is with only development being the thing that changes?

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VERY strong. Conitnuity plus the natural development of our young players has every bit as much a chance of being successful as trading Smoove for Gasol.

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#5. What type of lockerroom presence does Smoove have?

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I think Smoove fits in the locker room just fine. He gets along well with everyone as far as I know. In addition, he is showing significant signs that he is maturing by the way he has accepted his role on the team. He is taking FAR fewer bad shots and he was being supportive of JJ's struggles.

Looking at "players, situation and team", you would think that MEM has a terrific team. They have:

Darko - classic center

Gasol - classic PF

Gay - classic SF

Miller - classic SG

Conley/Lowry/Stoudamire - classic PGs

Yet, do they have a better team than us? I say absolutely not! Our guys may not be the prototypes at their postions (other than JJ and Marvin) but they fit together well as a unit most of the time.

[Atlantaholic]

Gasole for Smoove would be a debacle... Sure there is a possibility that 3-4 years from now Gasol is outplaying Smoove (If Smoove gets injured, Gasole does the improbable and actually plays better at 30 than at 27), the problem is that the chances of that happening are way WAY lower than the possibility that Smoove will be better. I would probably bet on Smoove being on a whole other level than Gasol at that point... Unless you are a championship contender making moves that will not help you three years ahead is retarded.

How can people act like Smooves age in comparison to Gasol's is not a HUGE deal??? Just think about it... When Gasol is 32 and probably an albatross around some teams neck, Smoove will be 28 and in his prime. This would be like when Washington traded Stackhouse for Hamilton... except that Smoove is ALREADY playing better than Gasol, (Check Hollinger's per, and NBA's efficiency rating) so it would probably end up being dumber.

And people that are saying we should do it just to get something for Smoove in case he doesn't resign are probably the most sensless of all. Do you think any other team that we are trading with is not aware that this is Smooves last year in his contract??? What the heck would they give up for him?

If we trade Smoove it would have to be for a giant contract (or a combination of contracts that = giant), which will probably be greater than what we would have payed Smoove, or at the very least (though extremely unlikely) the same amount. (any team that would trade for him would clear up enough cap space in the trade as to be able to re-sign him)... so that argument is just absolutely freaking BS.

Really, the proponents of this trade are just very, very wrong.

[vdunkndunk]

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I'm not pushing for Smoove for Gasol.

I think I have said several times that Smoove is our transition defense and not easily replaced.

I'm just saying that it's not a foolish thought. It actually makes sense in some perspectives.

I would much rather do Marvin for Gasol.

However, for Sekou to say that the people who said Smith for Gasol was foolish or whatever terminology he used... I think it's just shortsided and for him riding the moment. JJ would benefit greatly from a low post offensive player like Gasol. And Gasol benefits from outside scorers like JJ.

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This is exactly how I feel. It's not that I'm desparate to trade Smoove for Gasol, it's just that I'm not opposed to shopping Smoove before the trade deadline to see if we can improve the balance on this time. Smoove is a big-time chip for us, and I believe he's a high-risk/high-reward type of player - trading him might not hurt us that bad or it could become a huge mistake...it's just that at this point I'm not opposed to gambling a bit.

If we could get Andris Biedrins and Monta Ellis for Smoove, for instance, I'd definitely do it. If we could Gasol and Kyle Lowery from Memphis I might do that too. Of course, it would be even better if we get a nice post-scorer or PG in exchance for Chill or someone other than Smoove, Joe, Marvin, or Horford - but right now I'm not categorically opposed to trading Smoove or anyone else on this team if it makes us better in the long run.

[Diesel]

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I think that Horford, Marvin and Smoove will all continue to develop as quality options in the low post.

This is a hope that you are betting JJ's window on. Let's be real here... We don't have much longer with JJ. JJ is the allstar on this team. Like I have said before, If Memphis would say we'll take Marvin for Gasol.. we should jump all over it. JJ needs a low post offensive threat. He can thrive off of it. Smoove is not that. Horf is very limited in what he can do offensively. Marvin can get to the line when he feels aggressive. This is what we're risking JJ's window on. My contention is that if we got Gasol, we'd become a championship contender.

[Diesel]

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Even if we have to match a max offer, it will significantly cheaper to resign him than it will be to pay Gasol's salary.

Flawed thinking.

IF we were to sign Smoove to a max salary.. then this team is locked in. With NO offensive low post player.

IF we get Gasol, we have a true Center. Our team building is complete.

[exodus]

35 pts on 15/25, we definitely need to trade him.

[HawksFan87]

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35 pts on 15/25, we definitely need to trade him.

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I agree while we are at it, Al needs to go as well he only had 19 rebounds tonight and could have had more points if we would have went to him more.

[BusBoyIsBack]

It's always like this with Atlanta sports fans.

They make proposals that make no sense whatsoever.

The idea that we should trade Josh Smith for Gasol is just absurd and some people on here are honestly defending it.

"There is no guarantee that Smith will ever be better than Gasol"

First of all, he's already just as effecient as a basketball player.

And no guarantee? Hell with that attitude you could trade Shelden Williams for Greg Oden.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Smoove was the man tonight. It's a shame that he couldn't knock down some of those FTs tonight. Can't knock his effort though.

and by the way . .

through 3 quarters at Golden St, Pau Gasol has 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Damn, he hit another shot . . 36 points.

LOL . . but Memphis is down by 20 ( 79 - 99 ).

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Smoove for Biendrins was the ridiculous deal. Biendrins can't even begin to contain Gasol. Pau has 41 points now.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The mistake some of you make in this Smoove vs Gasol discussion, is that some of you don't give Gasol credit for just how good offensively this guy can be at times. Trading him for Smoove? I don't know at this point. We'd be weaker defensively, but better offensively.

Gasol is not some scrub though. Both he and Smoove had tremendous nights tonight. Gasol finished with 43 points and 11 rebounds on 17/25 FG.