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Will Chill's departure lead to further changes or just a replacement for Chill? Personally, I think they need to be a bit more agressive in making moves at this point, but I don't think they will.

I hope it means we like Marvin alot and hope to keep him to develop.

No. We won't make anymove. Any ability for a significant move is dwindling with ever other teams free agent signing. You are getting close to scraping the bottom of the barrell as is.

I don't expect anything big, but they should be more aggressive with smaller deals. If they haven't offered Kwame Brown the LLE yet (1.9M per season 2 years) then do so. If he doesn't take it then talk to Dikembe and Theo Ratliff about that slot. Talk to Kirk Snider and Kareem Rush about joining the team at the veteran minimum, 1st one to take it gets the job. If you can't get a big for the LLE then offer part of the MLE. I was hoping to use a larger portion of MLE an offer to Ryan Gomes, but I realize that C is a more important fill. I just think Minnesota matches a smaller offer too easily.

The other thing is I think they need to do is think more long term concerning Josh Smith. Supposedly the only official offer to him is 5yr/45M although they discussed 6/60M as a possibility. Realistically anything under 10M a year average (almost 11M) is less than Josh Childress got for leaving the team/country. If Josh Smith is as important to the team as you have claimed it would make sense to offer him at least more than Childress got regardless of the workings of the RFA system. The most he can make by opting out is 5yr/65M (3.167M this year and starting salary of 13.758M next year with 8% raises). That gives you the range of 11M to 13M a year to work. If you aren't in that range you are sending the wrong message and daring him to take the qualifying offer to get his freedom. To get to that 11M average, it would be a starting salary of 8.55M on a 6 year deal or 9M on a 5 year deal. By comparison, 5 yr/45M is a 7.4M starting salary. If he is one of the cornerstones of your team, don't get stuck thinking like an accountant just because he doesn't have much leverage. Keep him happy without breaking the bank.

evildallas wrote:I If Josh Smith is as important to the team as you have claimed it would make sense to offer him at least more than Childress got regardless of the workings of the RFA system. The most he can make by opting out is 5yr/65M (3.167M this year and starting salary of 13.758M next year with 8% raises). That gives you the range of 11M to 13M a year to work. If you aren't in that range you are sending the wrong message and daring him to take the qualifying offer to get his freedom.

I appreciate you keeping up with overall opinion of Josh Smith across different threads. I'd like to clarify one position I've taken. I've spoken about what I think Josh is worth, what the ASG will do, and what should happen. To separate those issues, I think Smoove is currently worth $9-11 based on talent alone. I think the ASG would match any offer he gets beyond that though because the team defense is totally reliant on him, the front office isn't creative enough to replace him, and because the fair weather fans pay for tickets to see JJ score and Smoove block shots. As far as what I think should happen, I realize that Smoove is worth more than just his current talent, aside from having the potential to get even better, our defense does need him, and I think he and JJ are worth building around. I would start with an offer of 10 mil avg a year and negotiate from there. I would really try to hold him to the 11 mil or 12 mil range though.

The "you" I meant in that post was the ASG. They've claimed publicly how important he is to the team, but yet their offer sounds like it is solely based on the math dynamics of the RFA system.

My guidelines were based on the math, plus a little psychology. Let me discuss lower end first. If Josh Smith is priority #1, why should he accept an offer for less than Childress signed for elsewhere? It tells him that other people probably value him more than the Hawks, but the RFA system prevents them from paying that. If he thinks about that too long then he'll wind up signing the QO so he can sign for his true value next summer.

The next psychological element is the Monta Ellis signing. Even though it is a different situation here is a guy getting 11M per year without any leverage because how important they consider him to their future. If Josh Smith thinks about that too long then he'll wind up signing the QO so he can sign with someone who truly appreciates him next summer.

Rod, I have no problem with your number, but I feel these outside factors are making the 10M average unlikely to acceptable to him and possible to annoy him. I would have thought that the 11M average would have sealed the deal before the events of the last 2 days. My real problem is the ASG reportedly is still at 9M average with an understanding that they'll go up to 10M average if he goes to 6 years. That doesn't show him that he as important as their rhetoric said publicly. It a harder line negotiating stance than one would expect such a prized team member to receive.

The max side of 13M that I posted is the absolute max (well a little less if the max contract goes up next summer) that he could get by opting out. I don't think they should have to pay that much, but that is the point passed which they are being overly generous. Any demands higher than this max are frivolous and can easily be shot down logically (although to do so might establish a new firmer demand level. Rumor doesn't even have him demanding that much though. Rumors have him seeking 12M (I assume average and not starting).