The Associated Press is reporting that the likelihood of the Hawks trading Josh Smith before Thursday's trade deadline is "as close to zero as you can get," according to Atlanta Spirit part-owner Bruce Levenson.
The AP story quotes Levenson saying, "I don't know where the rumors are coming from and neither does Josh. [He] said to me, 'They're not coming from me, Bruce. They're not coming from my agent.'"
The problem with this bit of revisionism is that Atlanta Journal-Constitution Hawks beat writer Michael Cunningham never specified in his blog entry that Josh or his agent were his source. Josh Smith still has not gone on record saying he does not want to be traded or that Cunningham's source was incorrect about his desires or lack of faith in the organization's commitment to winning a championship.
Until Josh goes on record to deny that the comments of Cunningham's source accurately reflect his feelings, denials such as the above from Levenson will ring a bit hollow.
4 comments:
Allegedly, the Hornets would take a 2nd round pick for Kaman according to ESPN. I think that would be a good trade for the Hawks since we need depth in the frontcourt, Kaman's contract is expiring after this season and I cannot remember the last time a player the Hawks drafted in the second round actually made a difference on the team during the season.
The problem is that New Orleans would have to take back salary. The Hawks are presently in the luxury tax and would have to do a deal such as Kirk to L.A. where he would be absorbed into their trade exception to get under the tax threshold.
The Hawks would have to, for example, send Kirk AND Zaza, two rotation players, to get a half-season rental of Kaman. I don't see that happening.
Much rather Zaza than Kaman, too
Agreed. Don't expect any splashes from the Hawks at the deadline unless it sheds money, not adds it. Moving Kirk or Marvin seems like something the team is interested in, but also seems very unlikely given the field's desire to stay under the cap.
In other words: don't expect any changes.
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