With Josh Smith Available, Can He Be The Power Forward The Cavs Need?

You would never think of a guy like Josh Smith ever being made available on the trade market. He's only 23, yet completed his fifth season in the league. The 6'9", 240-pound power forward who jumped to the NBA straight out of high school in 2004 just came off a season where he put up 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in the best season the Hawks have had in a decade. The year before that, he had 17.2 and 8.2 after averaging 16.4 and 8.6 in 2006-07.So why would the Hawks trade him again? Well, you would have to ask ESPN.com's NBA insider Chad Ford, who dropped this on Tuesday: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 Hawks have 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 the roster -- Josh Childress, Zaza Pachulia, and Ronald Murray. Although the Hawks would like to keep those players, 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 a difficult 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 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."Again, this situation exemplifies the fact that a bad economic situation means a good opportunity for the Cavs. Owner Dan Gilbert is now having his name clumped in with guys like Paul Allen (one of the 10 richest people in the world), Mark Cuban (one of the most visible sports team owners in the world), and James Dolan (the Chairman of Cablevision).The high-flying Smith was also tied with Chicago's Tyrus Thomas for 16th in the league in dunks this past season with 102. Dunking may be more style than substance, but it's as close to a sure thing that you can get for two points. On the Cavs, by contrast, the next highest dunk total behind LeBron's 128 (tied for seventh) was Anderson Varejao's 40 (tied with Darko for 74th) and J.J. Hickson's 34 (six-way tie for 88th).He's also one of the top shot-blockers in the league, as last year was the first time in his career that he averaged less than 2.0 blocks per game (1.6). Smith averaged 2.8 in 2007-08 and 2.9 in 2006-07. On a team with a solid defensive blueprint looking for an athletic shot-blocker, Smith just might be the final piece of the puzzle.My good friend RockKing over at "Waiting For Next Year" addresses the naysayers for Smith perfectly in this comment in his own piece from Tuesday:"The Hawks were a team NOTORIOUS for their lack of leadership. They had no identity, and they tended to play without much of a gameplan. Get Josh Smith in Cleveland where there is a clearly defined leader and a clearly defined offensive identity, and the results would probably be a lot different."And for those around the web who have endlessly been comparing Smith to Drew Gooden, please stop. In his wildest dreams, Gooden might be half the defender that Smith is. He might be half as good of a finisher around the rim as Smith. Sure, their shot selections both leave a lot to be desired, but that's where the comparisons end. Far be it for anyone to claim that Josh Smith is the panacea for anything that ails the Cavs, but it gives them a young power forward whose career symmetry aligns with LeBron's. James is 24 while Smith is 23. And speaking of the 20-year old Hickson, Smith is what the Cavs envision when they look at their 19th overall pick out of N.C. State last year.However, Smith can contribute right away while Hickson may be a couple of years away. Hickson is also not a guarantee to pan out, so the fact that the Hawks want to move Smith's huge contract (which he just signed last summer) should have Danny Ferry dialing up the ATL immediately. And fact that the $6 million trade kicker will block a lot of teams who want Smith from seriously getting involved in the bidding is a Godsend. Given the Cavaliers current situation (and trust me, times are bordering on "desperate" right now), money should be no object. $6 million seems like quarters when compared to what might happen to this organization if you-know-what happens. So if he Cavs are just as convinced that Smith can complete their championship puzzle, that $6 million should be no issue at all for a millionaire like Gilbert.Smith is due to make $10.8 million next season and is signed through the 2012-13 season, during which he'll make $13.2 million. The Hawks would certainly want a combination of young talent, expiring contracts, and draft picks in return. Hickson, an Atlanta native, would probably have to be involved as a potential replacement for Smith in the ATL. The Cavs would probably try to pawn off Sasha Pavlovic's non-guaranteed contract as well to provide the Hawks with instant cap relief as they have a number of free agents this summer.After that, it gets hairy. Delonte West has garnered a ton of interest from some teams, and it has been said that West's inclusion in a trade with the Phoenix Suns last February was a deal-breaker in the proposed deal for Shaquille O'Neal. Would the Hawks want a 26-year old combo guard like West if they're giving away their best frontcourt player? Or do the Cavs think that Hickson's inclusion in this trade is more than enough? Perhaps they meet halfway and throw in Daniel Gibson into the mix?And if the two teams happen to talk about this before next week's draft, Atlanta may also look for the Cavs to include their first-round pick, the 30th overall selection.Yet another possibility can be including Anderson Varejao in a sign-and-trade and sending him to the Hawks along with Hickson and Pavlovic. Something tells me that if the Cavs are looking for a young, long-term solution at power forward, Josh Smith is as good as it's going to get. They just don't have the pieces for Amar'e Stoudemire if STAT ever becomes available. If they want Chris Bosh, then they're going to have to wait for the summer of 2010 and free agency, because if they don't have the pieces for STAT, they certainly don't have the pieces for Bosh.Smith is neither Amar'e or Bosh, but he's a heck of a solution and a great fit for the Cavs on both ends of the floor. He gives them an athletic flyer who can go above the rim on offense (name me one Cavalier who could do that besides LeBron during LeBron's entire career) while blocking shots and being an anchor on defense.It makes too much sense. Not "special" enough in which they part with Delonte West (because if you're not familiar with the Cavs' line of thinking, West is a very special team player), but getting Smith while not having to give up any of the starters makes this team better than Orlando in a seven-game series.If you're a Cavs fan, you just may have your new mancrush for the summer. The next move belongs to Ferry.