http://philadelphia.comcastsportsnet.com/view_content_0p.asp?ID=66953From CSN website....just a visit recap...
by Dan Gelston
The Associated Press
Josh Smith wasted no time taking advantage of his restricted free-agent status and visited on Wednesday with the 76ers ? a franchise with plenty of cap room to make a big offer.
The 22-year-old Smith toured the city and visited the Wachovia Center with Sixers officials, who would like to woo the forward away from Atlanta with an offer sheet to expensive for the Hawks to match. He is a restricted free agent, so the Hawks can match any deal made to the 6-foot-9, 235-pound Smith.
"Everything is going good. He's enjoying his time here," said Smith's agent, Wallace Prowther. "They seem to like him. They seem to be genuine."
The Sixers can try and make matching an offer sheet tough to accomplish.
They have about $11 million in salary cap space available and could use all of it to offer Smith a five-year contract. The Hawks have said they would match any contract offer to Smith, but are on the hook next season for big contracts for Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson, and they still want to re-sign forward Josh Childress.
Smith's numbers have increased in each of his four NBA seasons since Atlanta made him a first-round pick out of high school in 2004. He averaged 17.2 points and 8.2 rebounds last year and helped the Hawks make the playoffs. Smith also reportedly turned down an extension worth about $45 million over five years.
Smith and his agents met with the Hawks on Tuesday. Prowther said other visits where scheduled, but declined to name the teams.
Smith would be a nice fit for the up-tempo Sixers and would be a huge upgrade over last year's power forward, Reggie Evans. He's one of the premier shot blockers in the league and could team with starting center Samuel Dalembert and small forward Thaddeus Young to form one of the top frontcourts in the Eastern Conference.
"From the outside looking in, it looks like he'd fit well," Prowther said.
