NBA Trade Ideas: Teams That Should Target Atlanta Hawks' Josh Smith
Atlanta Hawks star forward Josh Smith was shopped before last summer's NBA draft and the Hawks' initial inquiry was met with attraction from several teams.
With Atlanta starting to slide at 22-15 and only 6-9 in its past 15 games, the injuries could be catching up to the Hawks, and it could be time to look to the future.
That could mean revisiting placing Smith back on the trade block.
Smith's having a great season, averaging 16.6 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.0 BPG and 1.46 SPG. He should have been an All-Star and could turn into the Hawks' biggest trade chip.
It's doubtful Atlanta looks to deal Smith, but if it did, here are some teams that could have major interest.
Smith and Dwight Howard are very close friends and have talked about playing together for a long time, and Orlando was one of the teams trying to land Smith last summer.
Adding Smith would go a long way to making Howard want to stay in Orlando, but the Magic don't have the tradeable assets to make such a deal happen.
Then there's the fact that Atlanta's one of the teams trying to acquire Howard, so it would be unlikely to send him Orlando's way.
Danny Ainge really likes Smith, and the Celtics have a need for frontcourt talent for the future.
The Celtics have the expiring contracts of both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett and a pair of first-round picks; it would likely take more than an expiring contract to get a deal done.
The Warriors have been preaching defense under Mark Jackson, and adding Smith would be big for Golden State's future.
They have Monta Ellis to use as a trade chip, but that likely wouldn't interest Atlanta unless it could find a way to move Joe Johnson's enormous contract first.
According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Warriors could likely land Johnson, but the Hawks aren't looking to aggressively move Smith right now.
Of course, that could all change in the next few weeks as the March 15 trade deadline approaches. If the right deal comes along for Smith, the Hawks would at least have to think about it.
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