Berger: Nets may need to dump Hump to get Josh Smith

It seems that all the proposed packages for Josh Smith have flaws, writes Ken Berger. The Hawks want the Suns to give up two first round picks plus Marcin Gortat, but Phoenix wants to keep them. Smith has indicated he'd re-sign with the Bucks but only if they keep Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis ... and it's likely Milwaukee will have to give up one to get Smith.

That leaves the Nets. Their issue is that Atlanta doesn't want to take on salary next year, and Kris Humphries is owed $12 million next year. So the solution? FInd a third team willing to take on Hump --or Gerald Wallace(!)-- and return an expiring deal.

Berger writes...

The Nets have offered MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries and either a first-round pick or Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic for Smith. Short of the Suns offering two first-rounders, some execs believe Brooklyn's offer may be the best Ferry is able to extract for Smith, a 27-year-old prospective free agent who has never been an All-Star. But sources say Ferry's refusal to take back salary beyond this season is a sticking point the Nets will have trouble overcoming. Finding a third team to absorb Humphries or perhaps Gerald Wallace in a Smith deal would be challenging, to say the least.

A challenging issue, indeed. Both Humphries and Brooks are playing vs. the Bucks and both have said they want to stay in Brooklyn. It could be that they will.

• Source: Josh Smith not opposed to re-signing with Bucks - Ken Berger - CBS Sports