UPDATE II:
The great Ron Tillery is now reporting that the offer sheet has yet to be signed and might not be signed until tomorrow morning.
Sheesh, can anyone get something straight. Tillery's earlier piece had the feeling of him not knowing what the hell he was talking about in it. Then the AJC piece seemed to fill in the blanks and make it all legit. Now this.
Tillery also says that Atlanta is prepared to offer more than the Grizzlies. A 6 year deal. Why would they not just match our deal? Is that extra year worth it? Tillery called it a bidding war. Has a team with restricted rights on a player ever got into a bidding war before? That doesn't make sense either.
Oh ya, the sham site Hoopsworld says Atlanta will match.
At this point, I don't care what happens. Tillery says we have been debating signing Josh Smith for 3 weeks, which makes me happy. And makes me feel pretty smart too...hehehe...ok, enough gloating over this.
Please Atlanta, let us have our future PF.......stay tuned for more....
UPDATE I:
The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting the offer sheet is signed. The waiting game now begins. It will probably by 7 days before we know anything (IMO).
Herrington thinks the sign/trade route makes the most sense. Can't say I disagree.
Gay/Mayo/Smith....watch out...
EDIT...
I interrupt this Josh Smith Celebration for a second.
It has been brought to my attention that the Ron Tillery article is confusing. At first it says we sent a contract offer to Josh Smith. Has he signed it? Will he sign it? Why is Ron Tillery so vague? I don't have these answers.
But later on, Tillery says the Hawks have 7 days to match. Which implies it has been signed.
Why is Tillery so vague? Has Smith signed the contract yet? We need answers. Which means we need Herrington.....
Below is my original post
---------------------------------
I am in disbelief. That THUD you heard was half of Memphis falling out of their chairs at work.
Ron Tillery is reporting that the Grizzlies have [EDIT] sent a contract offer[/EDIT] to Josh Smith for 5 years, 58 Million Dollars. The Hawks have 7 days to match [EDIT] if Smith signs it.[/EDIT]
This deserves more of these:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So much for saving our cap space for next season.
Actually, we will still have cap space next season even with Josh Smith. About 9 million if my calculations are right. As for this contract, it looks like this, again by my calculation.
Year 1: 9.9 Million
Year 2: 10.69 Million
Year 3: 11.54 Million
Year 4: 12.46 Million
Year 5: 13.46 Million
Those numbers are rounded.
Anyway, I don't know what to say, except for more screaming.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Josh Smith, if he doesn't get matched, will be our starting PF. Many, even a pair of disbelievers on this site, don't think Smith can play PF.
Hogwash, I say. He will be the perfect PF for our team. He is athletic. He can play great defense, in the post, but also on the perimeter. He is the NBA's premier perimeter shot blocker. He will lead our team in rebounds, steals and blocks. Oh, and dunks. He can't shoot a lick from the outside, but who cares.
From my perspective, this fits perfectly with the 3YP. I know about 60% of the Griz fan base disagrees with that. How do I know that? Because Josh Smith has been the sole topic of conversation on Griz Messageboards for about 2 months now.
I wanted us to trade Pau for Smith. So, naturally signing him with cap space created from trading Pau makes me ecstatic.
It seems Heisley and Wallace finally came to their senses and made the move that was obvious from the beginning.
Will the Hawks match? I have no idea.
Could this turn into a sign/trade? Maybe.
For the 60% of the fanbase that believed Heisley was telling the truth about not spending any money this summer, I'm sorry, but you have to believe me that this is for the best.
We will be back later with updates and everyone else's take....for now, you get more of these:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Celebration Day, Memphis....rejoice!!!
Drink a beer for lunch.....Go dance around the office.....Call into Verno at 3 and just start screaming....It's Friday, we signed Josh Smith and things could get no better (except, maybe if I had this paper already written, which makes this news not the best timing, but who cares....celebrate!!!!)
Friday, August 8, 2008
Celebration Day! Griz Sign Josh Smith...or Offer Contract to Smith? Either Way, Grizz Brass Come to their Senses
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11 comments:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yikes!
This is precisely the type of move I suggested elsewhere on 3SOB, specifically at the time, an offer for Okafor.
Look, since we're the only guys with money, let's take a flyer on an RFA. If his team matches, it's back to plan A: Wait until 2009 . . . oh, and get teams to spend their money now, so they won't be competing with us next offseason.
If the team doesn't match, we get a player we want, at a price we want. $58 million for Josh Smith ain't bad.
But like Zack so eloquently said:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
L3E
Atlanta has stated it doesn't want to sign Smith for more than 9 mill. a year so it looks like it will definitely be a sign and trade. I would think it would be for Hakim and Lowry or JCritt in the sign and trade. This would be great for the Griz! This is a complete 180 degree transformation in just a year! Kudos for CW for getting some great exciting young talent. I wholeheartedly endorse the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! s
Wow. I'm really hoping that the Hawks don't match the offer. I'd love to see you guys with that team. Of course, I was really hoping that he would sign a 1 year QA with Atlanta and that the Wolves would pick him up next year, but this is the next best thing.
YESSSSSS!!!! Management finally came to their senses! Look at that core- Conley, Mayo, Gay, Smith, Arthur, and maybe Marc Gasol. Plus, with about $9 million in cap space next year, we can still sign another really good player, or at least have money to extend Rudy, Lowry, and Hak. PLEASE DON'T MATCH ATLANTA!!!!
Pau trade doesn't look half bad if you view it as Pau for Marc, Darrell Arthur, Crittenton (if he's not traded), and Josh Smith. I don't actually think we'll get Smith though.
Even if this doesn't work out for the Grizz, at least they tried. As stupid as it sounds, it does make me feel better...
Other than a line that ATL has seven days from the reception of the offer (which doesn't start officially until it's signed, but when Smith receives it he'll sign so it's semantics) to match, I think there is little confusion in the original article and the update.
Obviously the ATL offer was something the team was working on before being surprised by the Grizz offer. It sounds like ATL only wanted to guarantee Smith about $10 million a year for six years, and short of the security of one more year, it looks like the Grizz are offering a better deal.
I would think that Smith would prefer a five year deal because he'd be a free agent again at the ripe age of 27, and unless the NBA's CBA and salary drastically change, he'd be inline for a great contract right when he's entering his prime.
So the question of will ATL match because different because there is a definate difference between paying a player about $10 million a year for six years and paying a player about $12 million a year for five years. If ATL's ownership is budget conscious, that 2 million might be money they aren't willing to pay. I don't think it'll be that dire since they don't have any luxury tax implications, but how are they going to let an Euro team outbid them for one of their key components? If $7 million is rich for their tastes, wouldn't $12 million be as well?
And the Hawks match it. Oh well - at least we made the effort.
Why didn't the Griz front-load the contract more, is that against union rules? It would've made it more difficult for Atlanta to match with little downside for us. Even IF JS started going downhill, it'd be less cap hit in the later years anyway to minimize the risk.
(sigh) We finally make a move and it's shot down before sunset...
Well, at least another team has to spend more money. That's a very small gain for the Grizzlies. This was probably just a token offer though, to make the fans think the organization was willing to spend even if they weren't.
Trade Conley+Milicic for Smith now. Do it.
I still think you'll get him in a S&T. Memphis deserves him.
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