In an interesting and unexpected development, the Commercial Appeal's Ron Tillery is reporting this morning that the Grizzlies have sent Atlanta Hawks restricted free-agent forward Josh Smith an offer sheet for $58 million.
JSmoov on the Move?
The CA piece doesn't specify the number of years the offer sheet is for, though I assume it's for 5 years. It also pointedly doesn't say that Smith has — or will — sign the offer sheet.
Even with the disarray in Hawks land, I can't imagine Atlanta would just let Smith walk for that amount. I suspect the offer sheet will be leverage for Smith to work out a deal with Atlanta.
However, if the Hawks really don't want to pay Smith, then I wouldn't be surprised to see a sign-and-trade deal emerge, possibly involving Javaris Crittenton and Hakim Warrick. That might make a lot of sense for both teams. This is only my own conjecture; calls to team sources this morning have not yet been returned.
I'm not convinced Smith is a great fit with the Grizzlies, but he is a great talent, so if the team could get him for this price, I would endorse that move.
Even if nothing comes of this, the Grizzlies extending the offer sheet should have some positive impact on fan and media criticism that the team is only interested in keeping down payroll.
The other interesting nugget in Tillery's story today is that the team is targeting international free agent Hamed Ehadadi, a 23-year-old Iranian center currently getting set to represent his country in the Olympics.
Ehadadi has been performing very well in international play lately and has started to pop up as a NBA prospect, including a mention in this recent Chad Ford piece. With only two centers on the roster for next season and with Darko Milicic recently suffering an achilles injury while working with the Serbian national team, the Grizzlies need more depth in the middle. So, interest in Ehadadi makes sense.
I'd be very interested to see what the specifics of the deal are. If the deal is front loaded, then maybe they are taking a stab. I think it is more likely that if smith gets to the grizz, it is by sign and trade means.
Bibby comes off the books next year, so for all intents and purposes, the hawks only take a hit this year if they match. Not paying childress allows them to resign marvin williams next year for that money, so i couldnt imagine them not matching this offer sheet unless the yearly sums were somewhat creative.