NBA Trade Rumors: Josh Smith Would Revitalize Cavaliers Franchise

There are feasible trade rumors, and then there are trade rumors that are outlandish but a lot of fun to entertain for a moment, like soap operas.

Today, we get one of the latter involving the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks from Bob Finnan of the News-Herald:

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Rumors say the Cavs continue to have an open dialogue with the Atlanta Hawks concerning small forward Marvin Williams. That rumor won't go away. One media report said forward Josh Smith's name has been added to those discussions. Some have suggested sending Jamison and Sessions to the Hawks for Williams and Smith. The Cavs would probably do that.

"

I'm assuming Bob was being a bit understated there for the purposes of humor, because the Cavs would be flipping insane to not do that.

Josh Smith is one of the game's more exciting young players, and his athleticism makes him versatile enough to help a team in multiple ways. Sure, he's maddeningly inconsistent and his nonchalant attitude suggests he isn't interested in playing to his full potential. But even so, he's still been good for 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this year. Those aren't numbers to sneeze at.

Paired with Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, he would give Cavaliers fans something else to get excited about.

No, he's not the sort of player you want to build your team around—his game is too unorthodox for that—but the Cavs already have that player in Irving.

Smith is, however, as exciting and athletic a complementary piece as they come, and if the Cavs could land him and Marvin Williams at the price listed above, well, they would be upgrading in a big way.

Of course, I can't see the Hawks doing that, even with the money it would bring them off of expiring contracts next year.

But if the offer is ever on the table, the Cavs need to sign off immediately. Smith would bring a much-needed jolt to this organization, and he and Irving would put them on the fast-track to playoff contention once again.

Hit me up on Twitter—all of my tweets are Cinderella stories.