Barry nearly dealt to Hornets for JR Smith

[tomer]

Spurs' Barry nearly dealt to Hornets

Web Posted: 02/24/2006 12:00 AM CST

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Spurs arrived Thursday evening with 13 players, one more, apparently, than with which they intended to depart San Antonio.

The Spurs nearly traded Brent Barry on Thursday afternoon in a multi-team deal that would have netted New Orleans guard J.R. Smith, two NBA sources said.

The deal was close enough to completion — one opposing team executive said he had heard it was done — that Spurs officials initially told Barry he might not need to board the team's charter flight here.

The deal unraveled near the league's 2 p.m. trade deadline, which was an hour before the Spurs were scheduled to depart. After Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told Barry the trade was dead, Barry accompanied the team here.

Barry has played sparingly this month since Manu Ginobili returned from the inactive list. Smith, 20, would have helped the Spurs get younger and more athletic on the perimeter, though the trade would have been made with the future more in mind than this season.

Smith was taken with the 18th overall pick in the 2004 draft but since has fallen out of favor with Hornets coach Byron Scott, who doesn't think the young guard has worked hard enough to improve.

Barry has two years remaining on his contract after this season.

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[BUspur]

AWWW man, that would have been awesome!!!

[Spurs Crusader]

Originally Posted by BUspur

AWWW man, that would have been awesome!!!

That's an understatement.

[RichB]

Why wouldn't Byron Scott and the Grizzlies move this guy East?

If I was them, I certainly wouldn't send this guy to the most dominant team in my own conference.

[spurs000001]

nothing more than i could say other than man that would've been an awesome deal

OR

Barry use this situation to show ur true value this playoffs

a or b ?

[Grego]

Hmmm, fell apart in the final hour....interesting..

Barry proved himself last post season. As long as he gets the chance again, Im happy with him.

[Spurs Crusader]

Looking at salaries, it would have been a 2 for 1 because Smith's is only about a fourth of Barry's.

[spurssheriff]

[MARIO]

The Hornets were below the cap. So I believe they could have taken back more salary than they sent out.

[Spurs Crusader]

Originally Posted by MARIO

The Hornets were below the cap. So I believe they could have taken back more salary than they sent out.

.....but wouldn't you think the Hornets would want to stay that way instead of Barry's salary soaking up another two years on their books? It makes no sense.

[spurssheriff]

"This is it. This is the team we're going with."

[j_chantana]

brent barry's gotta feel like sh!t right about now

[crospur]

Originally Posted by Spurs Crusader

Looking at salaries, it would have been a 2 for 1 because Smith's is only about a fourth of Barry's.

Other teams were supposed to be involved in it, too.

The Spurs nearly traded Brent Barry on Thursday afternoon in a multi-team deal that would have netted New Orleans guard J.R. Smith, two NBA sources said.

[shaggy17]

That would of been a STEAL but oh well. I love Brent but after the Malik deal I am for any trade that is in the best interest of the team. Tonight we can be upset over this but come tomarrow night it is time to refocus on Memphis. This current spurs team is good enough to repeat as champions.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Originally Posted by BUspur

AWWW man, that would have been awesome!!!

What he said.

[Spurs Crusader]

Originally Posted by crospur

Other teams were supposed to be involved in it, too.

Even if the Hornets weren't getting Barry it still doesn't make sense, unless the Hornets were getting player(s) with expiring contracts to soak up some salary space of this season.

[spurs000001]

Originally Posted by j_chantana

brent barry's gotta feel like sh!t right about now

well, i mean with the way he's been playing, i'm sure he wouldn't have been surprised to be shopped around. What more can Pop do to help this guy . In 2 years with him he's tried everything.

but anyway, it's a business, i'm sure he understands that.

[99GO03SPURS05]

I love Bones, he gives us some personality. Personality with points is better, but I would still hate to see him go. He seems like the type who really needs to feel confident to play well, and I doubt being trade bait will give him the warm fuzzies.

[crospur]

Originally Posted by Spurs Crusader

Even if the Hornets weren't getting Barry it still doesn't make sense, unless the Hornets were getting player(s) with expiring contracts to soak up some salary space of this season.

I'm not a cap expert, but obviously there was something in it that would make it work. Well, it's over now so... But it will be interesting if the Spurs make a run for J.R. in the offseason.

[Vito Corleone]

I don't know the JR Smith situation but I have a hard time with trading a proven player for a guy that the other team has given up on. Kinda reminds me of the Spurs back in 86 when we brought in Walter Berry. We thought we had a steal but we forgot that there was a reason Portland gave up on him.

I think this was another one of those times when the best move was no move at all.

[Spurs21 Cowboys21]

I had a chance to meet JR and see him play.

He's quite mellow. Didn't talk much. He also doesn't obey the no ipod rule

I would not have have had a problem with this trade... even though I'm a huge Barry fan! (ANYONE who knows me will tell you the same thing) JR is the type of player the Spurs could develop into a nice bench player. He's similar to Jax, but more athletic. JR could flourish in the right system under the right coaching. I don't think he has that right now, but in SA... he'd be very solid.

OH WELL! It didn't happen, so I won't think about it after this.

[frenchfred]

I hate these nearly deals. Nobody gets traded and the player who was supposed to be traded gets a bad feeling that the team doesn't want him.

[blazinskillz]

he's only 20 how could a team give up hope

[crospur]

Check what Byron Scott said. He gave up hope on JR.

[alpineballer]

i don't see this as a great trade for the spurs if it really had happened.
ok, smith is young athletic and somehow talented. that kind of player is the easiest to find nowadays.
and he is selfish and doesn't like to play defense.
even if you argue that as a spur he might change (like sjax), i would prefer a player who brings the athletic abilities along with a good attitude.
i guess it was less about the player but more about the chance to dump some salery (ca. 4 million / year) if as reported some other teams would have been involved.

just read that the blazers traded sergei monia to sacramento. that would have been an interesting option. it was obvious that portland is going to trade some of their huge number of SF's and i thought monia is a very interesting player for the spurs. (i like khyrapa more, but monia also has a lot of potential, even if he wasn't able to show much of it till now)

[pjjrfan]

Looking at it from the Hornet's pov I think having Barry on the team would help their young players and add valuable veteran leadership and play. A guy like Barry would help Paul in his development plus having Barry and Brown would stabilize the team both on and off the court. I have always believed in having a mix of youth and strong professional veterans too many young guys is not good, check out the Clippers, before this year, the Wolves when KG first got there, the CAvs the last 2 years and though these teams have had good talent and exceptional talent in some cases that lack of vets providing leadership and professionalism has hurt all those teams.

The worst thing the Cavs did was surrond James with Davis and Miles his first year.

[polayer1]

I doubt Pop & RC were looking at J.R. as the missing piece for the stretch run. $9 million vs. $1.3 million on the books, you do the math...

[ro_50]

I think a lot of people are infactuated with JR Smith's tremendous abilities and potential.

And if he came here, there is a sense that the Spurs could nuture him and slowly bring him along.

But I dont mind the trade didnt go down. It would have been compelling to see how Smith would have fit in here and even if he did come and Finley, Bowen and Manu are all healthy, he wouldnt get the minutes here.

[Amente]

Originally Posted by polayer1

I doubt Pop & RC were looking at J.R. as the missing piece for the stretch run. ...

No need to doubt, Ludden wrote that into the piece.

Originally Posted by polayer1

....$9 million vs. $1.3 million on the books, you do the math...

If the trade meant the Spurs save about $3 mil. in salary next year then that $3 mil could have been used to help keep Nazr as I mentioned yesterday.

BTW, this may be why the deal fell through:

Scott declined to give specifics of the deal that fell apart. He did say that the Hornets had entered discussions on another trade about 30 minutes before the deadline and with five minutes left, both teams were in agreement.
“We got it (to the league) five minutes after the clock and they said, ‘No deal.’” Scott said. “So it was squashed, and everybody in the room was a little disappointed. We were that close to really feeling pretty good about the whole thing.”

http://newsok.com/article/1769913/?template=sports/main

[Flipmode Master]

OMG......... ........ I would have wet my pants if we did this trade... . All man......I mean.......awwwwwwww MAN...... this guy is awesome...Parker/Manu/Smith on the wings.......

[Benchwarmer]

NOOOOOO I can't believe the Spurs almost got JR.

[Amente]

Originally Posted by RichB

Why wouldn't Byron Scott and the Grizzlies move this guy East?

If I was them, I certainly wouldn't send this guy to the most dominant team in my own conference.

Originally Posted by MARIO

The Hornets were below the cap. So I believe they could have taken back more salary than they sent out.

Originally Posted by Spurs Crusader

.....but wouldn't you think the Hornets would want to stay that way instead of Barry's salary soaking up another two years on their books? It makes no sense.

Originally Posted by Spurs Crusader

Even if the Hornets weren't getting Barry it still doesn't make sense, unless the Hornets were getting player(s) with expiring contracts to soak up some salary space of this season.

Hornets are under the cap but I haven't crunched any numbers so I am not sure if they were under enough for a straight Barry for Smith deal. Anyway, sometimes it makes sense when a Head Coach wants a certain player gone off his team. Sometimes at almost any cost.

[crospur]

Amente, so what could be next Spurs' move? I guess they could go after Thomas, if he arranges buyout? Sprewell? Or stay put?

[Amente]

Originally Posted by crospur

Amente, so what could be next Spurs' move? I guess they could go after Thomas, if he arranges buyout? Sprewell? Or stay put?

They'll see what transpires with Thomas. May not happen though. I hear Thomas doesn't want a cheap buyout so it may not be worth it to the Bulls. And if he is waived then NJ is also hot for him.
and yeah, Spre is still an option they are considering.

[skydawg]

Originally Posted by pjjrfan

Looking at it from the Hornet's pov I think having Barry on the team would help their young players and add valuable veteran leadership and play. A guy like Barry would help Paul in his development plus having Barry and Brown would stabilize the team both on and off the court. I have always believed in having a mix of youth and strong professional veterans too many young guys is not good, check out the Clippers, before this year, the Wolves when KG first got there, the CAvs the last 2 years and though these teams have had good talent and exceptional talent in some cases that lack of vets providing leadership and professionalism has hurt all those teams.

The worst thing the Cavs did was surrond James with Davis and Miles his first year.

that is a very good point and byron scott preaches professionalism in several articles I've read.

[crospur]

And do you know how serious are they about adding someone? Do they feel it is necessary to add someone for the push or they are just looking for a low-risk investment, like GRob? And speaking of him, is he maybe in the mix? Lot of questions...

[Dr. Real]

Kinda' tacky on Scott's part to air personal matters in the media.

[Amente]

Originally Posted by crospur

And do you know how serious are they about adding someone? Do they feel it is necessary to add someone for the push or they are just looking for a low-risk investment, like GRob? And speaking of him, is he maybe in the mix?

More of low-risk investment and insurance. It's not like they feel they need
to do something.

I haven't heard anything about GRob being considered.

[crospur]

Thanks.

[samurai32]

I may be alone on this one but I'm glad the trade didn't happen. Although Smith is athletic and young and all of those variables, Barry is seasoned and an excellent option to hit the three ball when the playoffs roll around. Barry has been playing great but all that matters is one or two good games during the playoffs for redemption.

At this point, it doesn't matter what could have been. Let's move on and get ourselves another trophy.

[Spurs Brazil]

I think it would be a huge steal

[Long Live eLliott]

Deng, disgusting, can't believe something so good didn't due to tardiness......speechless......

[spurssheriff]

Who is "GRob?"

[Duncan21]

Time to get either Thomas or Spreewell. GO SPURS IN 2006

[crospur]

Originally Posted by spurssheriff

Who is "GRob?"

Glenn Robinson. Or are you just being sarcastic for some reason...

[tomer]

Originally Posted by spurssheriff

Who is "GRob?"

Glenn Robinson