They finally pulled IT off. They finally made the right move. The Atlanta Hawks resigned forward Josh Smith yesterday to a five-year, $58 million contract. They got a deal. The problem is, they didn’t create it. They didn’t have to do much at all. And they certainly didn’t show their second-best player or their fans that they are really serious about building upon last year’s foundations. They’re still one good player down (sorry, Maurice Evans is not Childress) and no better than last year. But they did save money!

The Memphis Grizzles, a franchise that should look into consulting for other teams on how to make them better, did all the work here. I was pleased to hear that they tried to sign a marquee player despite their money problems, but they played the role of agent to perfection. Atlanta’s low ball offer of five years at $45 million was clearly unacceptable to Smith. And why shouldn’t it have been? His numbers were quite good at 17.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, and a stellar 2.8 blocks each night. The only sub par part of his resume is the 3 turnovers a game.

The wisdom of the Grizzles’ offer is all relative. With the Hawks in apparent turmoil after Childress did the previously unthinkable (but quite logical), Memphis examined what comparable forwards were getting this year. Luol Deng got six years at $71 million. Emeka Okafor somehow extracted an almost identical deal from Charlotte. Even Andris Biedrins got over ten million a season. Memphis had to offer Smith something. He’s too good and they knew that Atlanta’s offer was going nowhere. It was worth a try. That being said, Atlanta’s notoriously schizophrenic front office was aware of these happenings the same as Memphis was. So why not make Smith a legitimate offer and placate a franchise guy?

It appears that Atlanta always intended on trying to save money on Josh Smith. This in and of itself is neither remarkable nor nefarious. Smith signed Memphis’ offer sheet because they were the only game in town who could offer a long term deal besides Atlanta. Smith was not the first player in LA’s or Philly’s pecking order, and he paid the price for it. With only one other team competing for his services, Atlanta hoped the price on their star forward would remain artificially deflated. The Hawks never intended to let Smith go (if the price stayed within the realm of sanity) and predicted that their almost discourteous low ball offer would generate another, less ridiculous bargain contract that Smith would be forced to sign. They were right.

The implications of the Smith contract in the Hawks’ world could be minimal or vast, only time will tell. The team is now slightly better equipped to build a team around their newly resigned forward due to their deft market play. However, if they are unable to make strides with the young core available now, Atlanta could find itself saddled with a very bitter star. Smith is not known as a locker room problem, but there is nothing like losing millions of dollars whilst losing games to get a guy going. The Hawks’ fans should be concerned that GM Rick Sund is creating an environment in which the players do not trust management and in which performance is not duly rewarded. With their sixth man already departed to the Mediterranean, a group of young players approaching free agency, and the PG position in the hands of the aging Mike Bibby, the Hawks might see their bargain maneuver as a long term loss.