Sekou: Mythbusting!
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:47 pm
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared ... sting.html
Let’s talk about what we do know:
Josh Smith is being targeted by Philadelphia with their $11 million-plus in available cap space. I know there is a small segment of people out there that think the Sixers might be using all this hype as a smokescreen and really be interested in making a sneak attack for Corey Maggette or even Elton Brand (if he does indeed opt out of his deal, we’ll know later today if he does or not). But Smith is the guy. And if the offer to Smith is frontloaded (think of the structure of the Hawks’ offer to Joe Johnson three years ago), things will get really complicated. The worst part is the Hawks had a 6-7, 235-pound cautionary tale on the roster in Johnson the last three years and still ignored it so they could dip their toes into the shark-infested waters this summer. It’s crazy.
Josh Childress is going to be the target of at least three different veteran-stocked playoff teams that are over the salary cap, meaning they’ll use their mid-level exception to try and steal him away while the Hawks are busy figuring out what they’ll do with Smith. The mid-level is expected to be anywhere from $5.8 to $6 million (we won’t know that exact figure until later either), so the chances of the Hawks matching an offer to Childress would appear to be extremely likely. But what seems logical and what actually happens during free agency don’t always match up.
Let’s talk about what we do know:
Josh Smith is being targeted by Philadelphia with their $11 million-plus in available cap space. I know there is a small segment of people out there that think the Sixers might be using all this hype as a smokescreen and really be interested in making a sneak attack for Corey Maggette or even Elton Brand (if he does indeed opt out of his deal, we’ll know later today if he does or not). But Smith is the guy. And if the offer to Smith is frontloaded (think of the structure of the Hawks’ offer to Joe Johnson three years ago), things will get really complicated. The worst part is the Hawks had a 6-7, 235-pound cautionary tale on the roster in Johnson the last three years and still ignored it so they could dip their toes into the shark-infested waters this summer. It’s crazy.
Josh Childress is going to be the target of at least three different veteran-stocked playoff teams that are over the salary cap, meaning they’ll use their mid-level exception to try and steal him away while the Hawks are busy figuring out what they’ll do with Smith. The mid-level is expected to be anywhere from $5.8 to $6 million (we won’t know that exact figure until later either), so the chances of the Hawks matching an offer to Childress would appear to be extremely likely. But what seems logical and what actually happens during free agency don’t always match up.