Hawks trade rumors: Hawks search for best deal possible for Smith

The Atlanta Hawks are making their final push to find the best deal possible for Josh Smith with the trade deadline quickly approaching. There have been an array of updates linking them to the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Phoenix Suns.

Initially, it was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that the Hawks would prefer to send Smith to the Western Conference. The Suns appear to be frontrunners for Smith according to Wojnarowski, though just yesterday ESPN reported that it's unlikely the Suns would make a trade for Smith before the deadline.

That would leave the Rockets out West, who just stocked up their shelves after trading for Thomas Robinson of the Sacramento Kings last night. The two teams have discussed dealing Smith to Houston in the past, but the Hawks' asking price of both Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik was too high for the Rockets, who can outright sign Smith as a free agent in the Summer. With new pieces on the table, Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that the Rockets and Hawks have entered "high level" discussions in a potential deal.

Milwaukee continues its pursuit of Smith, however, and a more refined deal has surfaced. Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh of the Bucks could be sent to Atlanta for both Smith and expiring backup point guard Devin Harris.

The Hawks will continue their search for the best deal possible until the 3 p.m. EST deadline Thursday afternoon. It appears there are plenty of options to sort through for now.

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