I just threw this baby up on the Trade Board a bit ago:
Washington trades: Javale McGee (RFA) Nick Young, Ronny Truiaf
Washington gets: Emeka Okafor, Minnesota first (from New Orleans)
Washington takes on some money and gives up a lot of upside in exchange for a steady vet in Okafor and a mid first rounder.
New Orleans trades: Okafor, Jarrett Jack, Minnesota '12 first rounder
New Orleans gets: Josh Smith, Ronny Turiaf (exp)
The Hornets consolidate some assets to get a second young star to play with Gordon. They still have holes, but they are in rebuild mode and this keeps them young and relevant.
Atlanta trades: Josh Smith
Atlanta gets: McGee, Jack, Nick Young,
ATL gets a young center that they can (a) keep for much less than they were paying Smith and (b) finally moved Horford to his natural PF position. Jack is a clear upgrade -- a better, less expensive version of HInrich. Young is a nice bench scorer, but probably not retained this summer (he'd have to waive his Bird rights to approve this deal, but I assume he would do so to go play for a playoff team). Atlanta is going to have some serious financial issues going forward, and this deal addresses that somewhat as well.
Not half an hour later, I see this:
Even as Josh Smith is having a strong season for the Hawks he has let the team know he wants to be traded as the March 15 deadline approaches, according to people with knowledge of Smith’s thinking.
And the reasons for Smith’s dissatisfaction with the team now have to make the Hawks wonder if they will be able to sign him to a contract extension next season.
By the end of last season Smith wanted out of Atlanta because he believed he was singled out for unfair criticism by coaches and media. Those concerns have died down for the most part this season but now Smith believes he needs a fresh start with a franchise where he can better reach his potential on and off the court, according to one of the people with knowledge of Smith’s thinking.
The person said one of Smith’s complaints is that he believes the Hawks didn’t do enough to promote him for selection to the All-Star team, which he thinks contributed to lesser players being voted to the team by Eastern Conference coaches. Smith, an Atlanta native who has played his entire seven-year career with the Hawks, also would like to play for a franchise he believes is more committed to winning a championship.
via Michael Cunningham- Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Atlanta might be able to to better than a McGee, Jack, Young combo from a talent standpoint. But I think their finances make this appealing to them.
I like Okafor here. I'm not under the illusion that he's anything special. But his contract is the right length and he can play with a variety of guys. Having that extra first -- maybe in the 16-18 range could really help. But that is when it would be really important to have the right GM who could draft the right guy in that spot. We could also potentially package the pick with our 2nd and/or one of our pups and move up to the mid-late lotto to pick Beal or Lamb.
