Jan 12, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Hawks small forward Josh Smith (5) posts up against Washington Wizards small forward Martell Webster (9) during the first half at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA Today Sports

With the NBA’s trade deadline arriving on Thursday afternoon, the rumor mill surrounding Josh Smith and his future whereabouts has kicked up a few notches in recent days.

Much of the speculation is now stemming from a recent “report” from Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski citing a list of five teams as possible destinations for Smith and a growing belief that Smith will be dealt by Danny Ferry before the deadline. One of the more interesting teams on that list is the Washington Wizards, and, simply because they haven’t been mentioned much before, there is some uncertainty on the potential returns.

First, there has been no full-fledged “rumor” surrounding a package from Washington… because I’m not sure a clear one exists. There two big-time assets are John Wall and rookie guard Bradley Beal, but both of those guys seem to be virtually untradeable and there is no reason to think that Washington give up either piece for a half-year of Josh Smith. That brings us to their 3rd-best trade chip, and that is the fact that Washington owns their own 1st-round pick for the 2013 draft. With Washington currently stuck at a 15-36 record, there is a real possibility that the pick could be of the top-3 or top-5 variety, and that, obviously, makes it extremely valuable. I am inherently skeptical that the Wizards (Ernie Grunfeld, specifically) would include this type of pick, but if they wanted to extend Smith and build around a super-athletic Wall/Beal/Smith combo? It may be worth the risk for Washington.

With the exception of the 1st-rounder, however, I don’t see a real match for Smith as far as Atlanta is concerned. Washington is void of young, cheap assets (outside of Beal) that would be coveted by Atlanta, and their “best” players are saddled with contracts that I’d have to assume Danny Ferry wants no part of. One “rumor” that has circulated the internet would be a package surrounding Emeka Okafor, but he is the exact opposite of what Atlanta would be seeking for Josh. Yes, Okafor is a nice player, and a Horford/Okafor front-line would be defensively fantastic, but he is making over $13 million a year, and his contract is guaranteed for 2013-2014. How is that an improvement? Nene is also a very, very nice piece, but with 3 more years on the massive contract he signed in Washington, Danny Ferry isn’t touching him.

In short, there is a deal to be made here, but it is a virtual certainty that the Wizards’ 1st-round pick would have to be included. Even so, Danny Ferry would have to eat away at the 2013 cap space that he has built, because Washington doesn’t have a single mid-size (or higher) expiring contract to match the Salary for Smith. Washington is certainly not the ideal trade partner for Atlanta, but if you squint hard enough, it seems… possible.

Atlanta Hawks’ Louis Williams (3) guards Minnesota Timberwolves’ Ricky Rubio (9), of Spain, during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves won 108-103. (AP Photo/Hannah Foslien)

Greetings! Things have gotten off of the rails a bit for Atlanta in the last two weeks, and the early-season momentum seems like it is a world away. Let’s take a look at what transpired.

Hawks @ T-Wolves — Tuesday, January 8th — Loss (108-103)

There’s no shame in losing in Minnesota on the road. I thought the Hawks played reasonably well, shooting 49% from the field, 45% from three, and even taking 21 free throws (making 17). Minnesota was just better on this night, committing an obscenely low 9 turnovers, and assisting on 29 of 40 baskets. The Hawks had no answer for Nikola Pekovic, who scored 25 points and dominated the glass to the tune of 18 rebounds. It was pretty curious to see only 24 minutes from Zaza Pachulia on a night where his physical equal (Pekovic) was dominating, but Al Horford and Josh Smith were playing well offensively, and Drew made the calculated risk to leave them at the 4 and 5 spots. It’s worth noting that Jeff Teague was a complete non-factor in this one, playing just 22 minutes, shooting 2 of 6, and committing 5 fouls. Eesh.

Hawks @ Cavs — Wednesday, January 9th — Loss (99-83)

Brutal. Atlanta scored just 55 points in the final three quarters, and Cleveland was just better all night. Kyrie Irving was tremendous, scoring 33 points on just 15 shots for the Cavs, but I thought the real X-factor was Alonzo Gee, who knocked down 5-9 threes to pick up the scoring slack for Cleveland. Overall, the Cavs made 12 of 23 from beyond the 3-point arc, and got to the line 20 times compared to just 5 attempts from Atlanta. It was a thoroughly lackluster effort from the jump, and while no one was “bad” (save the 7 of 18 shooting night from Al Horford), no player played particularly well here.

Hawks vs. Jazz — Friday, January 11th — Win (103-95)

It was looking like yet another one of “those” nights for Atlanta through three quarters, as the Hawks trailed 76-68 at that point even after cutting the lead down by seven points. And then, the Hawks exploded for a 35-point fourth quarter and an 8-point win. Devin Harris keyed the run for Atlanta with a season-high 24 points, including a shocking 4-5 from three-point distance, and Atlanta had six double-figure scorers despite only 7 points from Jeff Teague, and 3 from Kyle Korver. The second-unit was tremendous, as Ivan Johnson and Lou Williams were both +23 on the night, and they were just a different team with the Harris/Williams back-court. It is important to say that I don’t think this is sustainable, as Harris isn’t going to shoot like this on most nights, but it was a good thing he had it going on Friday night. For Utah, Randy Foye scored 25 points on 8-12 shooting, and Al Jefferson added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz.

Hawks @ Wizards — Saturday, January 12th — Loss (93-83)

Mercifully, the season series against Washington is over. Unfortunately, it ended on a woeful note. The Atlanta offense was a disaster for the majority of the night, and the final results were ugly. 38.5% shooting from the field, 7 of 24 from three-point land (29%), a rebounding disadvantage of 51-38, and 16 turnovers. Frankly, there weren’t a lot of positives. It is a credit to just how bad Washington can be that this game was this close, and they helped Atlanta out by shooting 2-11 from the 3-point line. It was the return of John Wall for the Wizards, and he scored 14 points and dished out 4 assists in 21 minutes. Nothing particular stands out in the box score aside from a 4-13 shooting night that included a remarkable 8 jump shots from either mid-range or 3-point range. I don’t even know what to say.

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In the end, it was another ugly 1-3 week, and the Hawks are in disarray. There is not a definitive “solution”, but instead, several small issues that decided to rear their heads over a two-week period. It’s not time to panic yet, but if the upcoming week looks anything like this one, the natives will be restless.

Jan 12, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) attempts a shot as Atlanta Hawks point guard Devin Harris (34) defends during the first half at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA Today Sports

The Atlanta Hawks came into tonight having won 18 of last 19 games with the Washington Wizards but left with a rare loss to a score of 93-83.

John Wall made his season debut and may have given the Washington Wizards a significant emotional boost. Wall even hit a three pointer. This is noteworthy because he has never been a capable jump shooter. For reference, Wall had three made three pointers the entire 2011-12 NBA season. His counterpart, Jeff Teague, desperately tried to shake recent slump. He was aggressive from horn to horn, getting to the free throw line 7 times and finishing with 19 points on 10 shots, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.

Josh Smith and Ivan Johnson had a hard time finding the rim, going a collective 4-19 from the field. Al Horford had a quiet double-double and Korver hardly made an impact. Devin Harris made three awkward shots, a bailout three and two And-1′s. DeShawn Stevenson had his first playing time of back-to-back, and promptly received boos upon shooting a three at end of half.

After owning a 1 point lead at halftime, Wizards came out in the third quarter on a mission, 6-0 run causing Larry Drew to call a quick timeout. However, the Hawks were unable to respond for the rest of the game and the wheels to the Hawks offense fell off in the second half. Previously it took a half for Atlanta to warmup before making an inspired run in the second half but not so tonight. The Hawks were pounded inside by the Wizards all night long and lost the points in the paint battle 46-22. In addition, they were outrebounded 51-38.

I hate to use the word “panic”, but after losing 6 of the past 8, including four to teams currently in the bottom half of their respective conferences and all 6 currently with worse record than the Hawks, the time to panic is rapidly approaching. Thankfully, in the Eastern Conference, it would take a very prolonged slide to fall out of postseason positioning The Hawks have also endured a pair of 4 games in 5 nights sets and the schedule looks to be more favorable in the days ahead. With such weak competition in the conference, the chance to break through a second round ceiling is available. All we can hope for is a much more consistent offense output as the heaped together roster continues to mesh with each other.