The NBA trade deadline came and went last month with little more than minor deals taking place, and most of the major targets stayed put. The topic du jour of the deadline, Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, was one of the players who was not dealt but it was not for a lack of trying by the Hawks, according to a report in the Philadelphia Enquirer.
Sources close to the Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers say that a trade sending Smith to Philadelphia for Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes "was close." Before the season started, the 76ers acquired center Andrew Bynum in the massive four-team trade that landed Dwight Howard in Los Angeles, and Andre Iguodala in Denver. Bynum has experienced setbacks in his recovery from several knee injuries, however, and has not suited up once for Philadelphia. Now the Sixers are 23-37, 14 games under .500 and languishing in tenth place in the Eastern conference.
Both Bynum and Smith's contracts are up at the end of the season, and it is highly unlikely the 76ers will want to commit to Bynum long-term. Smith is expected to command a max contract this offseason, and the move would indicate they saw Smith as a franchise player. Smith is averaging 17 points and 8.5 rebounds a night on 45 percent shooting.
Turner was the second overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, but the perception is that he has underwhelmed in his three seasons in Philadelphia. While his 13.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists a game may not be superstar caliber, he has improved in each season while his minutes have increased. Hawes was taken seventh overall in the 2007 draft and has failed to live up to his great promise, instead becoming a perimeter-oriented big man averaging 10 points and six rebounds nightly.
Both Turner and Hawes are 24 years old while Smith figures to be entering his prime at the age of 27. Since the trade did not go through, the Hawks will have a big decision to make about letting Smith walk one year after trading their last max contract player, Joe Johnson, to the Brooklyn Nets. The 76ers must figure out whether their two young building blocks can eventually become stars.
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