Mori, they tried. Everyone knew Smith was on the market and available. All they were offered were bad contracts in return. No positive assets to improve the team. They opted to stretch provision him instead so I guess the money saved off the cap by doing that looked better than whatever pupu platter the Kings were trying to give them.
I realize that they were doing their best to find a suitor and couldn't. So yes, maybe *today* the best they could do was to just release him. But they had literally 2 and a half YEARS to figure this out. They could have looked for a trade around the all-star break, when many teams are looking to make deals and all the GMs are in one place. Or next offseason. So much changes from week to week, month to month, season to offseason to next season. And it's not like this guy was expiring like Rondo was in Boston, where they had to get something for him ASAP or lose him. It just makes no sense to me.I think it's not. A cancer needs to be extirpated. A team that has employed Shannon Brown, Michael Beasley and Marcus Banks should be well aware of that. Sometimes relationships are part the fixing point and the best is to just break loose.
If he's causing a problem, you bench him and wait until the All-Star break and/or until the offseason.
Yes, the Suns paid guys like B*****y, S*****n B***n, and Banks to go away. But those guys were complete trash who didn't help our team at all. They had way less esteem and value around the league. And in most cases their yearly salaries were not even close to Smith's.
Look at the fervor around the league by contending teams who want to get a shot at Smith now. That wouldn't happen when we released B*****y or those other guys. Smith is a much, MUCH better player and much more desired around the league.
To get *nothing* for him is really poor GMing from a GM who is too busy coaching and too emotionally invested in the coaching side of his two-pronged job to make the best decisions as president/GM.
