JOSH SMITH ON 2 LIVE STEWS

[Johnnybravo4]

www.790thezone.com

[Vesper]

What did Josh say?

[HawksFan87]

Missed Smoove, but Nique is on right now..

[Traceman]

He is excited about the upcoming game tomorrow night and he probably won't be able to sleep tonight.

He thanked the fans for their support.

He worked on his game with Dream and Calvin Murphy in Houston in the off season.

He loves Atlanta - the ATL is his home - and he would like to be here (longterm) but he and the team couln't get a deal done. He hopes they can get a deal done in the future but this (the NBA) is a business. He is not worried about his contract now that they can't talk again until July 1 and he is just going to concentrate on playing ball and winning.

Ryan Stewart noted that Josh seemed a lot more mature and sure of himself than he did a year ago and that he seemed ready to take on a leadership role with this young team. Josh said that indeed he was and that both Chillz and Marvin were ready to be leaders as well.

Ryan said "the Hawks have got to pay that boy" when Josh hung up and I think that is just what will happen next summer.

.

[JJFAN4LF]

Hey guys. New here. Anyway, I just want to say that we made a mistake by taking a risk by not extending both the Joshes contracts.

[Nicholasp27]

how so?

we can match them in summer

there are hardly any teams with space to make decent offers

there is a reason smith/chill/deng/iggy/gordon/etc/etc/etc haven't been re-signed

when u have a strong draft class like that, then all the teams have that cap hold and wanna re-sign their own dudes

and then the top teams are all in luxury tax hell

no reason to re-sign him

let him work for it and also save us in case he gets injured

[JJFAN4LF]

I guess you're right, I'm just a paranoid person. I don't want to see two of my favorite players leave the team.

I do see Josh Childress leaving though for a team like the Clippers. He's from Cali and he might want to move back and play in front of his family. The Clippers might have some cap space next offseason.

Also for Josh Smith, if he has an allstar year, I think we'll see a lot of teams competing for him and will try to get him no matter what. He is an Atlanta Native though so we are the front runners right now.

[exodus]

Quote:

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I'm just a paranoid person

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You'll fit right in here.

[DrReality]

There's been a lot of talk about Smoove working out in Houston over the summer and what he focused on. Regardless of whether it was inside or outside moves, the guys he worked with are immently qualified to help him with the intangibles. The Dream started basketball late and Murphy was one of the smallest guys in the league. Both obviously were very competent re how they approached the game mentally. And that had to rub off on Smoove. Murphy was the consumate leader and here's hoping he gave Smoove a crash course in leadership.