July 2, 2008
PHOTO CAPTION: Antoine Walker defends Josh Smith.
Joe Juliano at phillynews.com is reporting, “Smith, a restricted free agent, was contacted by the Sixers almost immediately (after free agency started). A team spokesman said Smith and his representatives planned to meet today with president and general manager Ed Stefanski.”
A restricted free agent is subject to his current team’s Right of First Refusal, meaning that the player can be signed to an offer sheet by another team, but his current club reserves the right to match the offer and keep the player.
So, if Philly really wants this guy, which they do, they will have to make an offer that Atlanta can’t match, which they can do. The Hawks are a little tight with the salary cap because of big contracts they are paying to Mike Bibby ($15.2 million next season) and Joe Johnson ($14.2 million). Furthermore, they also are trying to resign Josh Childress.
Charles Barkley said the other night that usually when a team picks up a free agent it is to make the team a contender. And since the Sixes won’t be a contender with the addition of Smith you don’t have to spend the money just because you have it.
Barkely probably didn’t say anything about the possibilities of Iguodala and Miller not coming back next year. Therefore, signing Smith, who is better than Iguodala, is a very smart move. The Sixers still will have plenty of money next year to sign someone else.
Also, Barkley never won a Championship, so he doesn’t understand what winning a championship is all about.