Report: Josh Smith Drawing Interest From Celtics in Trade That Would Send Jeff Green, Brandon Bass to Hawks

NESN Doug Kyed on Sat, Feb 16

In the past 12 hours, three major trade rumors involving the Celtics have leaked. First, we saw a proposed trade that would send Rajon Rondo to the Lakers for Dwight Howard. Then Kevin Garnett was rumored to be going to the Clippers for Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan. Now, the Celtics are interested in acquiring Josh Smith from the Hawks for Jeff Green and Brandon Bass, according to Gary Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. With so many rumors flying around, the Celtics could be active before Thursday’s trade deadline. Boston was expected to be on the move after Rondo and rookie forward Jared Sullinger went down with season-ending injuries. Rondo and Smith are friends from their days together at Oak Hill Academy. The Hawks forward is averaging 17.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 blocks per game. He’s played his entire nine-year career with Atlanta.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2013/02/report-josh-smith-drawing-interest-from-celtics-in-trade-with-hawks-involving-jeff-green-brandon-bass/

KG has a no-trade clause that he has steadfastly said he will refuse to waive.

The Rondo-for-Howard trade can't work financially, the Celts would have to throw in at least one more major player. Not happening, and it has been denied by Mitch Kupchak. In fact, he has said Howard's not going anywhere. Period.

And now it's Smith for Bass and Green. One of the more versatile 3/4s in the league (26 years old) and a solid citizen, and a solid 4 (27 years old), for a single 27 year old 3/4 who has never been an all-star but is high school buds with our moody, mercurial, immature point guard. Great. Just what we need heading into the post-KG/Pierce era. Who do we get to play SG with those two? Jeff Spicoli?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uf5rIuJPTt0


I cannot wait until 2/22, when we will KNOW what we will have and all this ends.

Why the hell is the Racine Journal Times (of Wisconsin. Not Boston, not Atlanta) considered a credible source for a Boston-Atlanta trade, anyway?

4 more days, dear God, just 4 more days.

bob


.

Bob,

You raise good points about attitude.

The Celtics just cannot go and trade or sign a player based just on his stats. It is a combination of both talent and attitude ........that is required to play for the Celtics. Howard is no Celtic ..period end of story. When the going gets tough...Howard gets going ....into the locker room or out of town. He has no heart...just sulks.

KG...no matter what the situation was in Minny or here in Boston he has an attitude of a warrior........ a person on a mission to destroy the other team!

Howard shows none of that.......nor does Josh Smith who is a whiner on and off the court. Again no heart....cannot suck it up and go at it like a beast!

ALL I CAN SAY....BE CAREFUL DANNY AND CHOOSE HEART OVER TALENT.

112288

Trade Deadline Report: Bucks interested in Josh Smith
CBS SPORTS
By Matt Moore | Senior Blogger
February 16, 2013 4:37 pm ET


Could Smith be a Buck after the deadline? (Getty Images)
The Bucks are reportedly interested in Hawks F Josh Smith. From the Racine Journal-Times:

One team that hasn't been publicly mentioned in the Smith Sweepstakes is Milwaukee, although there are whispers the Bucks are interested. The Bucks are in position to offer the Hawks as good of a deal as anyone for Smith, especially if Jennings or Ellis is involved. Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova, whom the Nets seriously courted during free agency last summer and are still interested in, could also come into play.

via BUCKS BEAT: UW's Berggren draws attention of NBA : Basketball.

This is pretty interesting.

Monta Ellis has an expiring contract, which gives Danny Ferry even more cap space to throw at Dwight Howard and bring in a second star or quality player in free agency with him. If that fails, they can re-sign Ellis for a hopefully cap-acceptable deal and pair him with Jeff Teague and Al Horford, becoming the third team to try to get him to score off-ball. The Bucks could also send one of their fleet of quality big men to sweeten the deal.

From there, the Bucks get a legit star forward to pair with incredible young center Larry Sanders. They'll have to figure out the Brandon Jennings situation, but there are point guards to be found on the market. This would work pretty well for both teams. If Ferry is looking for a better deal than Boston, the Sixers or the Nets can offer, this one's pretty good if they can figure something out.

Join us next time on "Where in the World Is Josh Smith Headed?"

112288

I'm really liking Jeff Green lately, I wouldn't trade him straight up for Josh Smith.

COWENS

Danny better not unless they know things physically we do not!

112288

112288 wrote:Bob,

You raise good points about attitude.

The Celtics just cannot go and trade or sign a player based just on his stats. It is a combination of both talent and attitude ........that is required to play for the Celtics. Howard is no Celtic ..period end of story. When the going gets tough...Howard gets going ....into the locker room or out of town. He has no heart...just sulks.

KG...no matter what the situation was in Minny or here in Boston he has an attitude of a warrior........ a person on a mission to destroy the other team!

Howard shows none of that.......nor does Josh Smith who is a whiner on and off the court. Again no heart....cannot suck it up and go at it like a beast!

ALL I CAN SAY....BE CAREFUL DANNY AND CHOOSE HEART OVER TALENT.

112288

I totally agree. I'll add another name that has no heart and should not be allowed to wear Green: DeMarcus Cousins

gyso

cowens/oldschool wrote:I'm really liking Jeff Green lately, I wouldn't trade him straight up for Josh Smith.

cow,

I'm leaning your way too.

What we'd gain with Smith in rebounding (a much desired quality, given the loss of Sully) we'd lose in fullcourt speed and defensive versatility with Green. Green can defend Smith, LeBron, Carmelo, Deng, Bonner, Griffin, Lamar and Durant. He could also probably defend, although not as well, Ibaka and Bosh. I don't think Smith could guard the players on the first list well (except for himself).

One thing I like about Green is that he doesn't DEMAND the ball. Smith likes to have the ball in his hands a lot more.

One point not brought up yet, too, is that we are already bumping our asses up against the lower roster limit, due to the losses of Rondo, Sully and Blur as well as the waiving of Joseph and the resignation of Darko. A 2-for-1 deal, where we're giving up the 2, only exacerbates that problem. We need to add bodies, overall, not lose them.

I also like Green's answer to what the name of the team should be. Everybody else was coming up with "300", after the movie where the next man in line stepped up into the breach. Green said "The Celtics, being part of this franchise is honor enough". Good freaking answer.


bob


.

bobh,

Not only do we need to add bodies, we have to do so without adding very much salary. With half the season gone, we can add 2 or 3 vet minimum-type players. Danny said as much in the 2nd quarter the other day.

I guess that means we have less than $2 mil left under the hard cap to play with.

gyso

It seems that every trade senario is problematic for one reason or another.

Can we all agree that the one missing piece is a center?

I think Josh would do well here. Perhaps a change of scenery is just what he needs.

With that said why would you trade Jeff Green? Jeff is the the replacement for our small forward position and stretch 4 . His defensive presence is also a factor.

I have some untouchables..Rondo, Bradley, Green, and Sullinger (that covers the 1,2,3,and 4 spots) Now if could get a top 10 player we should entertain trading anyone on this team provided we do not rob Peter to pay Paul.

dboss

Dboss:

If we robbed Peter to pay Paul, we'd be left with Mounds of problems. (LOL)

MD!

MDCelticsFan wrote:Dboss:

If we robbed Peter to pay Paul, we'd be left with Mounds of problems. (LOL)

MD!

MD, what would Mary say?

With respect to keeping Green and Bass over getting Smith, Mary would say, "Don't Think Twice It's All Right."

Sam

Sam,

Good one. That song brings another thought to mind . . .

All these crazy trade rumors "... just sorta wasted my precious time"

gyso

Cow, I'm with you on keeping Green. We know he has heart. It was inspected recently at MGH.

worse bobh

Also Greens defense has really improved, I noticed last time I saw Hawks vs Heat, Lebron was getting anything he wanted on Smith very easily and Jeff Greens defense has really picked up the last month. Right now with his length and quickness he defends Lebron as well as anyone in the league. Behind closed doors I think KG and Pierce have been really working with Jeff getting him to buy into basics as his defensive stance looks so much improved.

cow

Cow, for sure JG is our best defender on LeBron (other than KG). We don't want to put KG on LeBron and LeBron wears Paul out nowadays guarding him full time. Jeff is definitely a keeper.

Our starting lineup if all the trade rumors were true;

Josh Smith

DeAndre Jordan

Dwight Howard

Avery Bradley

Eric Bledsoe



Our probable starting lineup February 22 against the Suns;

Paul Pierce

Brandon Bass

Kevin Garnett

Avery Bradley

Courtney Lee



I'm not making a judgement on which is better, just which is probable.

NYCelt wrote:Our starting lineup if all the trade rumors were true;

Josh Smith

DeAndre Jordan

Dwight Howard

Avery Bradley

Eric Bledsoe



Our probable starting lineup February 22 against the Suns;

Paul Pierce

Brandon Bass

Kevin Garnett

Avery Bradley

Courtney Lee



I'm not making a judgement on which is better, just which is probable.

The first 5 would easily be the best defensive starting line up in NBA history.

To Sam & Gyso:

I haven't seen Mary since she was, "Leavin' On A Jet Plane." I don't know when she'll be back again. (lol)


MD!

MD.

Unfortunately, not in this world.

Sam

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/54926/hawks-seem-determined-to-deal-josh-smith


Hawks seem determined to deal Josh Smith
February, 19, 2013
FEB 19
2:03
AM ET
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com


You don't have to listen too closely to hear trade chatter about Kevin Garnett and Josh Smith.
It didn't take long, coming out of All-Star Weekend, from the trade chatter to crank back up again.

Some fresh dribbles of that chatter follow in the lead-up to the NBA’s 3 p.m ET Thursday trade deadline:


The Atlanta Hawks have convinced numerous teams that they're definitely trading Josh Smith this week, largely because they see the unpredictable lefty as a virtual lock to leave them in free agency this summer.

So ...

Destinations?

One team close to the situation consulted Monday night predicted that the Nets would ultimately land Smith via a three-way trade after ESPN's Chris Broussard reported Feb. 11 that Smith is a prime Brooklyn Nets trade target.

Another team pinpointed the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks as the strongest contenders to win the Smith sweepstakes. The big worry for both of those teams, though, is whether they could really risk trading for Smith when convincing him to re-sign for the long term is likely to be a serious challenge in either city. Especially with Smith said to be angling for a max deal … and with nobody confusing the Suns or the Bucks with Mikhail Prokhorov's Nets.

Broussard, furthermore, tweeted early Tuesday that the Washington Wizards have made anyone on the roster available for Smith, apart from John Wall, Bradley Beal and Nene.

Which brings us to the Boston Celtics.

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Monday that the Boston Celtics have, indeed, registered their interest on the Smith front, with the caveat that they also remain highly interested in the Clippers' Eric Bledsoe.

Yet a Boston deal for Smith, sources said, would almost certainly have to be built around Paul Pierce, because Kevin Garnett isn't waiving his no-trade clause to go to the Atlanta Hawks if he's not willing to waive it to go to Clipperland. And the prospect of Celtics front-office chief Danny Ainge exiling Pierce to the Hawks for Smith, after everything Pierce has done to restore the Celtics to glory over the past half-decade, is still hard to imagine.

At least for me.


According to one theory in circulation on the personnel grapevine, Celtics officials could be moved this week to try to make the case to Garnett that waiving his no-trade provision to accept that long-rumored trade to the Los Angeles Clippers would be the best thing not only for himself but for the long-term health of the franchise. Combine that approach with the expected lobbying from the L.A. side by good buddy Chauncey Billups, as the theory goes, and maybe Garnett will ultimately relent and consent to a swap.

Have to add three follow-up caveats here, though:

1. After spending a solid 15 minutes in the same room with Garnett in Houston as part of ESPN Radio's All-Star Weekend team, I became convinced that KG isn't waiving that no-trade clause. For anyone or any team. My impression is that it's going to take more lobbying than anyone out there can muster.

2. Broussard reported late Monday night on "SportsCenter" that Billups has already warned the Clippers that Garnett's position appears to be firm … and that Garnett spelled out the exact same thing to Chris Paul last summer when Paul informed KG that the Clippers wanted to pursue him via trade.

3. Even if Garnett did wind up with the Clippers this week, after all the bluster against the idea, I still struggle to picture the Celtics telling Pierce that they're going to send him to the Hawks for the good of Boston's long-term health. The deal might make sense for Atlanta -- since Pierce's $5 million buyout for next season would extend the Hawks' window of flexibility and create a new set of options -- but it still looks like as an impossible sell in Boston.

I've always thought Rajon Rondo, not Pierce or Garnett, would be the first member of Boston's star trio to be dealt. There simply might not be a shake-up move available to the Celtics at this deadline now that Rondo has been lost to a season-ending knee injury.


There's more on that subject.

The Clippers, according one source close to the situation, would not be willing to surrender both Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan to Boston even if Garnett was willing to waive his no-trade clause.

Is that posturing? An absolute stance?

We'll find out for sure between now and the deadline, but the source insisted that the Clippers feel that a Bledsoe-and-Jordan combo is too much to surrender for a 36-year-old who isn't sure how much longer he'll be playing.


The consistent word out of Houston, incidentally, is that the Rockets -- long known to be Smith fans -- are far more likely to pursue J-Smoove in free agency than to try to trade for him this week.

The Rockets are expected to use their leftover salary-cap space from last summer to extract an extra draft pick from teams looking to shed salary for luxury-tax reasons right before the trade buzzer.


Veterans who remain available in trade talks this week include San Antonio's DeJuan Blair, Cleveland's Omri Casspi, Charlotte's Ben Gordon, Brooklyn's Kris Humphries, Oklahoma City's Eric Maynor, Minnesota's Luke Ridnour, Phoenix's Sebastian Telfair and Washington's Jordan Crawford.

Orlando, meanwhile, continues to seek no less than a first-round pick for sharpshooter J.J. Redick, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in July.


bob
MY NOTE: Let's go back-to-front. A first round pick for Redick? Maybe a low first rounder, but nothing anywhere close to a lottery pick. Ridnour would nicely fill the backup point guard role, but who do we give up to get him? We're thin at almost every position now. Same thing with Blair. Ben Gordon would certainly light things up. And now to the 800 lb. gorilla, trading Pierce for Smith. From Danny's perspective it makes sense, a 27 year old 3/4 for a 35 year old 3. From the fans' (and KG's) perspective it's a big swallow.

Thank God this is all over Thursday. I can't wait to get back to talking about how to make our pieces fit together better and not about who the pieces are.


.

bobh,

49 hours to go? That does not mean the rumor-frenzy is over.

March 1 is the next deadline. Players waived after this date are ineligible for the playoffs. If Danny doesn't blow it up, that is where the fillers come from.

gyso