After much ado...it turned out to be all about nothing for Josh Smith, who is still an Atlanta Hawk after the NBA trade deadline expired Thursday.
The Hawks had been hearing multiple offers for Smith, who can become a free agent this offseason, but ultimately decided to keep their leading scorer, who is netting 17.2 points for Atlanta this season.
Several suitors for Smith came calling on Atlanta's door, with offers from Brooklyn, Phoenix and Milwaukee among the more serious bids. According to ESPN, the Hawks and Bucks were negotiating into the final hour before Atlanta decided not to pull the trigger on a trade.
The Bucks reportedly had shooting guard Monta Ellis to offer the Hawks.
Smith has been reported to desire a max contract, which clashes with the Hawks' philosophy of shedding cap space in the coming seasons. Yet Smith remains with Atlanta, at least until the end of the season. Whether this means that Atlanta is convinced that they can resign Smith to a more reasonable price is hard to say.
Atlanta did not go without a trade, however, sending shooting guard Anthony Morrow to the Dallas Mavericks for veteran Dahntay Jones.
Orlando Trades J.J. Redick To Bucks
While the Bucks may not have gotten Smith, they are getting one big new asset in J.J. Redick.
Milwaukee and the Orlando Magic agreed to swap Orlando's Redick, who is averaging 15.2 points for the Magic this season, along with Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith in exchange for Milwaukee's Tobias Harris, Beno Udrih and Doran Lamb.
Redick is hitting career highs in points right now and is a career 40 percent three-point shooter, making him something of a sharpshooter from beyond the arc. Since Dwight Howard left for L.A., Redick's role on the Magic increased and he took full advantage of it.
However, Redick is still set to be a free agent this offseason, and the seven-year veteran is said to be looking for a four-year, $40 million deal.
Knicks Sign Kenyon Martin
There wasn't an exchange of players, but for 10 days, the Knicks have acquired a player who once helped get the Nets to the NBA Finals.
The Knicks agreed to a 10-day contract with Kenyon Martin, who tallied 5.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and one block in 22.4 minutes over 42 games with the L.A. Clippers last season.
At his peak, Martin was one of the game's most explosive forwards, helping the then-New Jersey Nets, who had Jason Kidd and VInce Carter at their peaks, reach the NBA Finals in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003.
Knicks GM Glen Grunwald says signing Martin brings defensive presence and depth to the Knicks and a measure of insurance in case Marcus Camby and Rasheed Wallace can't come back this season from injury.
Trade News Around the League
There weren't any earth-shaking signings after the dust settled on Thursday, but a flurry of trade action did occur around the league.
First off, the New York Knicks sent forward Ronnie Brewer, a defensive specialist, to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a second-round draft pick.
Next, despite news of each of them being on the block, the Boston Celtics didn't trade any of their superstars in Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce by the deadline. But they did manage to acquire shooting guard Jordan Crawford, who is averaging 13.2 points this season, from the Washington Wizards in exchange for parting with subs Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins.
The Thunder also traded backup point guard Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a $2.2 million trade exception.
Aside from Redick, Orlando also traded power forward Hakim Warrick to the Charlote Bobcats in exchange for power forward Josh McRoberts.
The Philadelphia 76ers landed point guard Charles Jenkins from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for draft considerations. The Hawks also landed Jeremy Tyler from Golden State for draft considerations, as well.
The Toronto Raptors made another trade deadline move by acquiring Sebastian Telfair from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for center Hamed Haddadi and a second-round pick.
And finally, the Grizzlies acquired center Dexter Pittman and a second-round pick from the Miami Heat in exchange for the rights to center Ricky Sanchez.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
