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The best organizations in the NBA play their cards close enough to their vests so that word doesn’t leak out about their roster moves until right before the moves take place. There’s a very good reason for that. Simply put, the teams don’t want to have to explain to their players why they weren’t traded when the rumored talks fall through. It creates bad blood and can destroy the team chemistry that is so important for teams hoping to make championship runs.

Today’s case in point is the Atlanta Hawks. Bring up the Hawks in the company of NBA pundits and you’re going to hear two basic discussions taking place. The first is why the team decided to pay Joe Johnson more than Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki or Dwyane Wade, but almost immediately thereafter the subject of trading Josh Smith sets in. Where will Josh Smith be traded? What do the Hawks need to get back?

It was only a matter of time before Smith himself became annoyed with the trade talks, and they’ve been going on for so long that he now sounds ready to move on.

Now, according to Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Smith is ready to put and end to the endless rumors and speculation and just move on. Wojnarowski even goes so far as to suggest that Smith has named the teams for which he would like to play – the Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets or the Orlando Magic.

Of those names, the one that really pops out (unless you’re a die-hard Houston Rockets fan) is the Magic, who desperately need to make a big move to keep Dwight Howard in town long-term. Magic GM Otis Smith may be saying he doesn’t plan a major move, but let’s be realistic. If he doesn’t add a significant piece he’s going to be forced to trade Howard before next season’s trade deadline to avoid losing him to free agency. Dwight wants to be a champion, and the Magic are as far from that status right now as they’ve been during Dwight’s time as an elite player.

Enter the Hawks. Howard is long-time friends with Smith, with whom he played AAU ball, and would love to have his friend beside him when the curtain goes up on 2011-12.  The only problem is that the Magic don’t have many attractive assets to offer the Hawks. But let’s think outside the box for a moment. Hedo Turkoglu makes close to what Smith makes, and he also is a true small forward who spaces the floor with his three-point shot. Atlanta’s first choice is to land a center, but now that talks with the LA Clippers regarding Chris Kaman appear to be dead, that doesn’t seem like a viable option.

If the Hawks were to take Turkoglu they open up two very real possibilities. First, perhaps Hedo would be the true small forward the Hawks need. When he has the right attitude Turkoglu is capable of being a great asset, and a very capable floor leader, which would also help Atlanta. Second, in the event of an amnesty clause in the new collective bargaining agreement, the Hawks could pay Turkoglu off and find the cap relief they seek.

The Magic might also offer up Jameer Nelson and perhaps Brandon Bass for Smith. That would give the Hawks a solid starting point guard ahead of Jeff Teague and give them some flexibility on the front line. It would mean Gilbert Arenas becomes the Magic’s point guard, but since they seem to have so much confidence in him perhaps that’s the way to go. They could re-sign Jason Richardson and have a decent veteran backcourt to complement Howard and Smith, who would easily be the best defensive duo in the NBA.

Neither is an ideal scenario for Atlanta, no matter how sweet it would be for the Magic. In truth, Otis Smith needs something like this to save his team and his job. He’s traded himself into a corner by acquiring bad contracts and now has no easy way out. At the same time, there doesn’t appear to be an ideal scenario for Atlanta. The Nets are looking to do their damage in free agency and lack the assets to move in a big trade. The Rockets could send out Brad Miller and Hasheem Thabeet for Smith, but it would be a race to see which of those guys would have less of an impact for Atlanta. Rounding out Smith’s supposed favorites, the Celtics don’t appear to be willing to further disturb their core by moving Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen, the pieces the Hawks covet.

It may turn out that the best option for Atlanta will actually be to keep Josh Smith, but by showing their hand so early and so often they’ve made it a very difficult proposition. Smith is tired of the talk and ready for a move. Most of the time, that means a move will happen . . .even if it’s not an ideal move for his current team.

Faried Chanelling “The Worm”?

Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried may not be the most talented player in the 2011 NBA draft class, but he is certainly one of the hardest-working. He’s currently projected to be picked somewhere in the early 20′s, but he’s hoping that through the workout process he can improve his stock value and get up into the teens somewhere. He just completed a workout in Indiana, where the Pacers hold the 15th overall pick.

“It went well,” Faried said in an interview with XL950 in Indianapolis. “I played aggressive and strong throughout the workout. I try to make every workout out as good or better than my last one.”

Faried makes a living on the offensive glass, where he gets 23% of his possessions, and converts in way that brings back memories of the man he patterns his game after . . .none other than The Worm himself – Dennis Rodman.

“I think highly of Dennis Rodman,” said Faried. “He’s a Hall of Famer. He won (five) championships. His first with Detroit and then Chicago. Of course, I try to model my game after him and try to play on that pace that he played at and maybe, hopefully, I can win (five) or more championships like he did.”

Faried is a New Jersey native, but chose to head to the Midwest for college when he saw how committed Morehead State was to pushing their program to new heights.

“They stayed committed to me and the humbleness and the respect that I got from going on a visit there,” Faried explained. “I met a lot of the coaches and a lot of the people were friendly and nice. They took great pride in the basketball team and it made me want it that much more and to bring greatness back there.”

The Eagles fell well short of “greatness” during Faried’s tenure, but they did pull off an upset of the Louisville Cardinal in the NCAA Tournament. More than anything, the support of the fans seems to have made an impression on Faried, who pulled down 17 rebounds in his team’s unlikely win.

“It was very exciting. It was a great feeling overall to have the fans’ support, with everybody driving out to Denver. That’s a long drive and people were just coming out to support us. We have some of the best fans in the world because to take that trip and to know how long that drive would be. I just respect them so much for that. I thank them a lot, extremely a lot.”

Kenneth Faried is not the most polished player in the draft class, and the Pacers are much more likely to go shooting guard when they get their first crack at the draft board. Still, Faried is a player who can make his mark on the NBA with his hustle, his hard work, and his Worm-like determination to get every rebound.

Picking For Houston

{AUTHOR_BOX}The NBA Draft is now just two days away, and while the Houston Rockets are working hard to try and move up in the draft order, they could very well wind up picking at 14 for the second straight season. Everyone knows the Rockets need a starting center to replace Yao Ming, but that’s not something the Rockets can address in the draft, and certainly not at pick 14. Good young big men come at a premium, and the few that are in this draft class will be gone before Houston’s first crack at the board.

With that in mind, we turn our attention to Houston’s other significant need, which is a wing player to replace Shane Battier. Washington State’s Klay Thompson could fill that role reasonably well, especially because he’s a dead-eye shooter in spot-up situations. He got the bulk of this offense from isolations (23.5%) and spot-up plays (22.1%), and that fits Houston’s style of play perfectly. Whether it’s Yao Ming posting up or Kyle Lowry with his dribble penetration, the Rockets create a lot of open looks and need more players who can knock down those shots with regularity. Thompson is just such a player.

On the defensive end Thompson is no Battier, but he does do some things very well. He was very good (ranked in the 67th percentile) in defending through screens last season and was excellent (91st percentile) in defending in isolation situations, which is what he’ll face more often than not in the NBA. He’s also much better against man-to-man defense (80th percentile) and against zone (32nd percentile), which is something he’ll have to work on.

When you look at Klay Thompson’s overall game he looks like a great candidate for the Houston Rockets, not only because he can spot up like Battier but also because he can handle his own defender extremely well like Battier. He may even bring a little more offense to the position and earn considerable minutes behind Chase Budinger and perhaps Kevin Martin. If Thompson is on the board at 14 and the Rockets haven’t managed to move up, he could very well be the ideal candidate to join Kevin McHale’s squad next season.

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