ESPN.com reports that the Hawks, who have financial problems, "have been working hard the past few weeks to see whether they can find a taker for Josh Smith." As always seems to be the case with the trade rumor mill, the Mavs are mentioned. 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 trade kicker 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 the payment. "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." There's no question that Smith is a major talent. He's 6-9, 240 pounds and can jump out of the gym. He averaged 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks as a 23-year-old. But he's primarily a power forward. And the Mavs have a pretty good guy at that position by the name of Dirk Nowitzki. Against certain teams, Smith could play significant minutes in the middle. And maybe the Mavs could go with a starting lineup on a regular basis that has Smith at small forward with Josh Howard at shooting guard. But Smith is a poor jump shooter -- check the stats at 82games.com -- and perimeter shooting is already an issue for the Mavs. Cuban and Co. ought to at least determine what the Hawks would take in a Smith salary dump. But, given the finances and questions about Smith's fit with the Mavs, it'd be hard to blame Cuban for passing on him.