According to Chad Ford, the answer is yes, he is.
The big trade rumor flying around (if you’re already tired of the Shaq-to-Cleveland talk) centers on the Hawks’ Josh Smith. Several league sources told ESPN.com that the Hawks have been working hard the past few weeks to see whether they can find a taker for Smith.
The Hawks have some financial issues coming into the summer. Two key players, Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams, are free agents. So are a few others on the roster — Josh Childress, Zaza Pachulia and Ronald Murray. Although the Hawks would like to keep those players, they can’t afford to pay all of them. That has opened the door to the possibility of trading Smith, who, although talented, has a reputation as a difficult player to coach.
The Hawks have had no problem finding teams interested in Smith. The issue is the whopping $6 million trade kicker attached to his contract. The trade kicker essentially would require the team that trades for Smith to pay him the $6 million immediately. In this economic climate, many owners will balk at the payment.
It seems shortsighted (or maybe blind is the better word) for the Hawks to trade away their second best player so they can re-sign their middle-of-the-road point guard and their middle-of-the-road small forward. I think Marvin Williams has some yet untapped upside, but Smith is a key cog to what the Hawks have built over the last few years, and he’s locked into a fairly reasonable contract given his production. He’s just 23, and he’s already a 16/8 type of a guy. He did a much better job this season of taking better shots (though he’s still not there yet), upping his FG% from 46% to 49%.
Maybe he’s a tough guy to coach, but he’s still one of the best young players in the NBA. If the Hawks can find someone that can get through to him, he has the skills to be a perennial All-Star for years to come.
