POSTED: June 15 -- 2:08 p.m. ET
Smith
Chad Ford: The big trade rumor flying around (if you're already tired of the Shaq-to-Cleveland talk) centers on the Hawks'
Josh Smith. Several league sources told ESPN.com that the Hawkshave been working hard the past few weeks to see whether they can find a taker for Smith.
The Hawks have some financial issues coming into the summer. Two key players,
Mike Bibby and
Marvin Williams, are free agents. So are a few others on theroster --
Josh Childress,
Zaza Pachulia and
Ronald Murray. Although the Hawks would like to keep thoseplayers, they can't afford to pay all of them. That has opened the door to the possibility of trading Smith, who, although talented, has a reputation as adifficult player to coach.
The Hawks have had no problem finding teams interested in Smith. The issue is the whopping $6 million trade kicker attached to his contract. The tradekicker essentially would require the team that trades for Smith to pay him the $6 million immediately. In this economic climate, many owners will balk at thepayment.
"You are going to see very few owners willing to do things like that anymore," one GM said. "I'm not saying he's impossible to trade.There are a few owners like Paul Allen, James Dolan, Mark Cuban and maybe Daniel Gilbert who would pay the money. But there aren't many."
Flynn
•
Brandon Jennings,
Jonny Flynn and
Jrue Holiday went head-to-head infront of the entire Kings brass in Sacramento this past weekend.
The Kings are looking closely at those three prospects, along with Spain's
Ricky Rubio. And the chances thatRubio will slip to No. 4 seem to grow by the day.
Rubio has been pretty adamant that he doesn't want to play in Memphis. Although he doesn't have the same objection to Oklahoma City, it sounds asthough the Thunder are leaning toward drafting either
James Harden or
Stephen Curry. So, if neitherteam makes a trade, Rubio would be there at No. 4.
But sources in Sacramento say that the Kings have reservations about Rubio and that it's far from a done deal that they will take him if he is on theboard.
That's what made this past weekend's workout so important.
Flynn appeared to have won the off-the-court battle. Although both Holiday and Jennings came off as mature, Kings officials were impressed with Flynn'scharisma and his potential leadership qualities. That transferred over into the workout, too, where sources say Flynn really ramped up the energy in thegym.
The team also loved Flynn's penetration ability, his defense and the swagger he brought to the court -- something the Kings desperately need.
Sources say Jennings' combination of speed and quickness was impressive, but his shot selection and jump shots were not. Neither was his slight frame.From the sound of things, Jennings was probably more impressive in his Golden State workout than in the one in Sacramento.
Holiday was solid and shot the ball well, but he melted into the background a bit in a three-on-three drill when paired with Flynn. Apparently, Holidaydeferred a bit too much to Flynn and ended up being a 2-guard in the workouts.
Holiday already has been in twice for the Kings, and you can expect them to try to bring back Flynn once more. Ideally, they would get to see him gohead-to-head with Rubio, but right now I don't think Rubio would agree to even a one-on-none workout, let alone a competitive one like that.
Rubio
• Speaking of Rubio, his situation looks a little more precarious Monday than it has seemed. I've assumed that Sacramento at No. 4 was his floor, and itstill may be. But if he slips past Sacramento, things could get pretty interesting.
First, Rubio has been avoiding the Wizards. Apparently, his people don't think he's a good fit in the backcourt with
Gilbert Arenas. If the Wizards pass on him because of that,I'm not sure where he'll land. Minnesota needs a point guard, but the Wolves seem to be leaning toward Curry and
Tyreke Evans. The Warriors needRubio badly, but they have a pretty rocky relationship with his agent, Dan Fegan.
Of course, both the Knicks and Rubio would love for a marriage to happen, but Rubio would be in a financial bind if he falls that far. He no longer wouldmake the cash to afford a buyout in Spain unless the buyout is really reduced.
I still believe the most likely scenario is that a team will move up into the top two or three to grab him. But if that doesn't happen, things could getpretty crazy.
Mullens
• The word out of the workouts in New Jersey was that Ohio State's B.J. Mullens skipped the workout because he had been promised to be picked in the top16.
The top 16 probably means No. 16, which is the
Chicago Bulls.Mullens would be a really good fit for Chicago, as he has huge upside and plays a position of need. He's a long ways away, but the Bulls probably couldafford to gamble at this point in the draft.
A few other teams, including the Knicks, Bobcats and Suns, also are considering Mullens, but it is most likely that he'll be on the board at No. 16 whenthe Bulls pick.
If Mullens does go to Chicago, that could be really bad news for Pittsburgh's
DeJuan Blair, who is slipping abit after the medical report from Chicago red-flagged his knees. Although teams have varying degrees of concern, a number of the teams in his sweet spot in thedraft -- 10 to 15 -- sound worried that a couple of previous ACL tears could cause problems for him later in his career.
If they are concerned and pass on him -- and Chicago takes Mullens at No. 16 -- Blair could be in for a draft night slide. The Sixers (No. 17), Wolves (No.1
and Hawks (No. 19) don't really need a 4 like Blair. And although the Jazz (No. 20) could use another big if they lose
Carlos Boozer, Blair probably is too similar to
Paul Millsap.
I wouldn't be shocked to see Portland GM Kevin Pritchard, always the opportunist, try to find a way to move up into the middle of the first round tograb him. The Blazers want more toughness up front, and Blair certainly would provide that.
Hill
• There were a few weeks when it looked as though
Jordan Hill might be slipping ondraft boards. But the feedback I've been getting during the past few days says he's still very much in the mix in Washington and that the Warriors andKnicks also are taking a serious look at him.
As for the Warriors, Hill isn't a real need for them -- they have
Brandan Wright,
Ronny Turiaf and
Anthony Randolph, who can all play the 4. However, ifGolden State doesn't find a point guard it loves by the time it picks, Hill could be the guy.
The Knicks also could choose to go that way. If
DavidLee leaves via free agency, they would have virtually no front line and could use Hill's energy, rebounding and emerging offensive game.
Curry
• Sometimes NBA teams put too much emphasis on the workout process and lose sight of the bigger picture.
New Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn made a point after taking over the team that he was adamant that players must come in and work outfor the Wolves if they want Minnesota to draft them.
Then came word that Curry, who has done workouts with just two teams -- the Knicks and Bobcats (and possibly a third, the Wizards, on Monday) -- wasshutting down his workouts before coming to Minnesota.
So Curry is out of the mix in Minnesota, right?
Um … no.
"I am [adamant]," Kahn told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "But I don't want it to be so adamant that it's some sort of ironclad,pound-the-fist [rule]. I think that would be inaccurate. I think it's important that everybody we look at does come in, so I don't want to back off ofthat. But I don't think it's something that is such an ironclad rule that it can't be violated.
"I think that in his case, he has such a long body of work because he's been in college for a few years, and we saw him [at the draft combine] inChicago," Kahn said. "We interviewed him in Chicago, so it's not as if we're missing an interview on him. So I would feel in his case that weat least have a lot of information already. It would be more problematic if it were somebody that we didn't know as well."
With that said, I think Curry is the Wolves' best-case scenario at No. 6. Are they really going to scratch off a guy they want at No. 6 just because hedidn't come in for a workout?
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN.com
