Ready for a Monta Ellis era in Atlanta?
Rusty Simmons of SFGate.com did the NBA blog community a favor by listing speculated Golden State interest from league and team sources involving 19(!) of the league's teams as the Warriors reportedly peddle Monta Ellis.
In the Atlanta section, Simmons discusses Joe Johnson and Josh Smith:
Atlanta: The Warriors think they could get Joe Johnson but feel he's a more expensive and possibly inferior player to Monta Ellis. They'd like Josh Smith, but they haven't found the Hawks willing to part with the forward.
Is Johnson more expensive than Ellis? Check. 4 years, ~80 million vs. (at the most) 3 years, 33 million for Ellis.
Ellis has an ETO, per ShamSports in that third year and would likely use it to lock down another long term deal. Also consider that Golden State would have to toss in some more salary coming back to ATL to make it work, as ESPN Trade Machine confirms.
Is Johnson inferior in productivity than Ellis? Not exactly.
PER wise, Ellis is better, but Johnson provides more towards win share than Ellis, perhaps because Ellis is absent defensively while Johnson, even while losing effectiveness, is better than Ellis even today.
They'd like Josh Smith? Gee, after last night, doesn't everybody? And not just for his dunk on Ibaka. To see him on an offense that is consistently inside the top 10 in Pace versus the bottom 10 like the Hawks have been since Smith's arrival in ATL would be exciting and his numbers would surely rise.
Exit Question(s): It's not going to be 'are you tired of trade talk?' because I know the answer, and it won't matter until the trade deadline passes March 15.
No, the question is how you regard Ellis, who is an explosive scorer, but does lack on the defensive end. Now, balance that regard against the stunning financial commitment still due Joe and the fact that Ellis will likely terminate his contract after 2 years. Would you do it?
And what would you want from the Warriors if Rick Sund was determined to deal Smoove? Even ATLpaul would have to have a price on Josh -- what is it?
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