As I'm sure you've all read, the Sixers entertained Atlanta Hawks' free agent forward Josh Smith last week. Their pursuit of Smith makes a lot of sense on a lot of levels. The Sixers desperately need a power forward and Smith not only plays the position, but won't slow down the offense as he can really run the floor for a big man. He averaged 17 points and 8 boards a game in only his 4th season. Sure, this sounds like a potentially great move.
However, there are two problems with the Sixers' pursuit of Smith. First, he's only a restricted free agent and Atlanta can match any offer sheet. Plus, there appears to be no Plan B. There are no other power forwards out there except Elton Brand and he doesn't appear all that willing to take a $5M/year pay cut to leave the Clips.
That's why I'm starting to get the feeling that if the Sixers don't pull off their courtship of Josh Smith, they could be left holding the bag....well, a bag filled with $11 million in unused cap space. I'm pretty sure they can take that money with them next year and use it on a potentially better group of free agents, but I'd really like to see the money used this year as the Sixers really have the opportunity to build off of last year.
We could be pleasantly surprised and Smith could end up a Sixer. Unfortunately, as a Philly Sports Phan, you often don't have the luxury of being pleasantly surprised.
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