restricted free agent Josh Smith has signed a five-year, $58 million offer sheet with the Memphis
Grizzlies, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday.
Smith
The Hawks will have seven days to match the offer, which the report said came unexpectedly from the
Grizzlies.
Atlanta has said it would match any offer for the 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward, despite offseason overtures from the Philadelphia
76ers and the Los Angeles
Clippers, neither of which panned out.
Smith quickly took advantage of his restricted free-agent status, spending July 2 visiting the
76ers, a day after teams could start negotiations with free agents.
The 22-year-old Smith toured the city and visited the Wachovia Center with team officials.
But the
76ers opted to sign restricted free-agent Elton Brand, and the
Clippers made a trade with the Denver
Nuggets for Marcus Camby.
Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said shortly after the season he was committed to keeping Smith.
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.