Josh Smith remains a Hawk after trade deadline

Josh Smith will remain a Hawk -- for at least a few more months.

The NBA trade deadline passed Thursday and the unrestricted free agent to be, the center of so much speculation, will stay until at least the end of the regular season.

The Josh Smith Trade Watch is over. The Josh Smith Free Agency Watch begins. Video: Just how close did Hawks come to trading Josh Smith?

The Hawks chose to hold on to Smith after not being able to secure an acceptable deal. Smith remains a Hawk for the final 30 regular-season games, plus playoffs, before going on the open market. The Hawks will be in the mix to re-sign their leading scorer. The Hawks can offer a maximum deal of five years and approximately $94 million. Smith can sign with a team of his choosing for a maximum deal of four years and approximately $70 million.

“We value Josh,” Hawks general manager Danny Ferry said. “We’ve said that all year long. He’s been important to this program and he’s been important to our year.

“We weighed the positives and negatives in each situation and at the end of the day, with some of our situations, we felt like the best decision was to stand pat based on some of the things we were looking at.”

Ferry said that while much of the public attention was on Smith, he fielded offers about several other Hawk players.

The Hawks made two deadline transactions. They sent guard Anthony Morrow to the Mavericks for forward Dahntay Jones and also acquired forward Jeremy Tyler from the Warriors for cash considerations and future draft considerations.

Morrow, acquired in the offseason from the Nets as part of the Joe Johnson trade, played in just 24 games this season as he battled a right hip strain and a sore lower back. Morrow, who played at Georgia Tech, has been unable to crack the Hawks regular rotation since his return. He appeared in just two games since Dec. 29 and played a total of 10 minutes. Morrow will get a chance to use his outside shooting ability

Morrow sent the following message on Twitter: “Looks like I’m officially a Mav! Thank you for all the welcome tweets! Can’t wait to feel that AA center energy soon!!!!”

The 6-foot-6 Jones gives the Hawks an athletic wing defender. He has appeared in 50 games for the Mavericks and averaged 3.5 points, 0.6 assists and 1.4 rebounds. He has an expiring contract in a season where he will make $2.9 million. In his 10th year, Jones has also played for the Grizzlies, Kings, Nuggets and Pacers. Jones will wear No. 30.

Tyler, 6-10, appeared in 20 games for the Warriors and averaged 1.1 points in 3.1 minutes. He was a second-round pick (39th overall) of the Bobcats in 2011 and acquired by the Warriors in a draft-night trade. Tyler will wear No. 1.

Smith, who has been besieged with questions about his future of late, participated in the Hawks’ practice Thursday morning, hours before the 3 p.m. trade deadline. Although he admitted to a tough night sleep on the eve of the deadline, made worse by the team’s loss to the Heat Wednesday, Smith said he planned to spend the afternoon at home, enjoy the conch salad prepared by his mother and await news of his future.

“No matter what happens Atlanta will still be home,” Smith said. “I’m from here. I have a home here. My family is here. It will always be the place where I rest my head.”

By not trading Smith, something they would have had to do had they not unloaded Johnson and his maximum contract this summer, the Hawks risk losing the star forward for nothing in return. According to Ferry, the competitive nature of the current roster and the promise of salary cap flexibility after the season were deciding factors in not trading Smith.

The addition of Tyler brings the Hawks roster to the maximum of 15. Ferry said there are still decisions to make regarding the current group of players and the team’s need for a reserve point guard.