Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks is the top trade target of this year's NBA trade deadline, with several suitors rumored to be pursuing the forward. Smith, who is 27 years old, will be a free agent at the end of the season and is expected to be seeking a max contract, or $11 million per year.
The Atlanta Hawks have aggressively shopped him, and the teams that keep coming up are the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Boston Celtics. A centerpiece of a Bucks deal, however, would have to be guard Monta Ellis because, according to ESPN's Marc Stein, point guard Brandon Jennings has become "near-untouchable." Talks have been complicated according to the report though, because while Smith has expressed interest in playing with both Jennings and Ellis, the Hawks primary target is Ellis. The Bucks are reluctant to part with their two other top commodities, forwards Larry Sanders and John Henson.
The Nets have offered Atlanta forward Kris Humphries and promising young guard MarShon Brooks and either a future first round draft choice or the rights to Bojan Bogdanovic, according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Nets would clear $12 million of cap space and be able to offer Smith the max contract he seeks, but it is unclear if the Hawks are enamored with their haul from Brooklyn.
The Celtics are in the conversation as well, with their championship hopes all but disappearing once point guard Rajon Rondo was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Wojnarowski reported that talks of a Kevin Garnett to the Clippers for point guard Eric Bledsoe and center DeAndre Jordan trade have cooled, but if Garnett is moved Paul Pierce may eventually be sent to Atlanta in a deal for Smith.
This season Smith is averaging 17.4 points and 8.6 rebounds, both down from last year's totals. His assists and blocked shot totals have risen, but so have his turnovers. For his career, Smith has averaged 15.2 points and eight rebounds per game.
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