Hawks' Josh Smith says politics behind All-Star snub

[EazyRoc]

You sound like a fool. Straight up. Josh Smith handled rejection immaturely. End of story.

[Eddielives]

Let me explain why it was immature to say it. He says "the whole world knows" that he should be an all-star. Think about that. What is he implying there? Obviously it's an erroneous statement because if the "whole world" knew he should be an all-star, he would be an all-star. By saying this he is bascially saying the ones making the decisions are ignorant or something to that effect. Instead of accepting the fact that other players were considered more amenable to a successful all-star team, Josh needs to realize something about the "whole world" he lives in. That is that you have issues that played into the decision making process. Sure Josh has the talent and the numbers to warrant being there over some other guys. But it's not about stat stuffing unless you're putting up such crazy numbers they can't be ignored. These coaches around the league know he has a history of disrespecting his coaches and giving up on national tv. Why can't the Josh supporters wearing the rose colored glasses not just accept the fact that this is more than likely the reason he wasn't selected? Josh still hasn't shed that sometimes bitchy and do it my way attitude that gets him in trouble.

Edited February 12, 2012 by Eddielives

[HawksFan87]

Get over yourself eddielives. He responded accordingly.

[ersimo2889]

This is how you respond accordingly as a professional:

Paul Millsap:

“Everybody who’s been voted in deserves to be there,” he said before Friday’s 101-87 loss to Oklahoma City. “Obviously you wouldn’t be voted in if you didn’t.” When asked if he felt he’d been snubbed, Millsap downplayed the idea. “I don’t know,” he said. “You go out, you put you best foot forward and if it’s not good enough for the coaches to vote you in (it’s obviously not a snub).”

Al Jefferson:

“If I make it, it’s a wonderful thing,” he said. “If I don’t, I’ll just keep working hard and keep trying to get better. I’ll use it as motivation.”

Kyle Lowry:

“The recognition comes with winning,” Lowry said. “If we win games, it’ll come.”

Ryan Anderson:

"It's a league full of respect….I'm in the process of doing all I can in earning that respect."

Brandon Jennings:

Jennings tweeted after hearing the news: "Just gotta work even harder now."

I'm sure all of these guys feel shitty about getting snubbed like Josh - but they handled it with grace. What Josh did is only reinforcing the public perception of him, which is probably why the coaches didn't pick him in the first place.

Edited February 12, 2012 by esimonds03

[hazer]

This is how you respond accordingly as a professional:

Paul Millsap:

Al Jefferson:

Kyle Lowry:

Ryan Anderson:

Brandon Jennings:

Josh has already been there and done that for a few years. There then comes a time when enough is e-damn-nough and you gotta step up and be a man and defend yourself vocally for being repeatedly slapped in the face.

Edited February 12, 2012 by hazer

[Duff_Man]

Rod Tidwell.

[Eddielives]

Get over yourself eddielives. He responded accordingly.

Judging by your "get over yourself" comment, I can see why you see Josh's response as according. When you share similar characteristics with someone, you tend to not see how they can be interpreted as many people who have taken life lessons and learned to be a little more professional and mature would. So it's not surprising many see Josh's responses as fine.

[tonegully]

What Joe should do is give up his spot for Smoove. That would be a very class move. If you been to 5 all star games, missing one for your team mate wouldnt hurt. Thats what i would do.

[Supporter]

Would the nba even allow guys giving up spots??? won't that ruin the integrity of the game.

[HawksFan87]

Now that we can agree with tone. Joe should not be going. Period..

[MaceCase]

Would the nba even allow guys giving up spots??? won't that ruin the integrity of the game.

Iverson did it, I believe, because he was voted in as a starter by fans after coming back from retirement and playing all of like 4 games for his Philly return......but he did so while b*tching and crying that he had no reason to and the official reason ended up being a personal matter regarding his daughter.

In fact that's how Joe ended up starting that year but all that means is that the replacement would be up to Stern of which he picked David Lee... Other injury replacements that Stern picked that year (and their team's media market ranking) Jason Kidd (5), Chris Kaman's much ballyhooed All Star selection (2) and Chauncey Billups (20) to go along with Lee (1)

[Wretch]

Something I learned about a decade ago job hunting - it's not always the most qualified person that gets the job. If a person can't understand this principle, then they'll never understand why he was snubbed or what was unprofessional (but not neccessarily wrong) with Smith's reaction. Just like Josh Smith, some people find it difficult to understand the criticism of Smoove's game - and anyone that offers such criticism is just a "hater" (despite having personally and painstakingly created a signature graphic depicting Smoove and only one other Atlanta Hawk player).

At the risk of going around-about once more...

There is a player inside of Josh Smith that could LEAD this team to domination. THAT player does not show up every night. He is instead put on the shelf in favor of a player with a chip on his shoulder. A dude that wants to prove that he can play to a skillset that MOST people, to include those who have played the game, feel he does not have. These critics, likely to include those who snubbed him, also believe that this is not in his or his team's better interest. I would think this is the reason they snubbed him. Not that anyone is a better player, not that he doesn't deserve to be there, and certainly not that they "hate" him or the city of Atlanta. None of that line of reasoning makes any sense.

Smoove is essentially the guy who can perform the job unlike any of his peers. However, Instead of doing his job, he spends his time criticizing and berating others...and micromanaging their work - trying to be a boss (and thinking he's good at it). He is also disorganized, undisciplined, and has terrible people skills and he wants the promotion to manager. Well......you don't make that guy the manager because it is detrimental to the performance of the entire department. You coach him to his strengths, promote him to a lead technical role, and you keep him in the trenches. And you pay him WELL.

Translation:

Josh Smith, stop taking bad shots, ditch the crossover, give the ball up in transition, do some dirt, crash the glass, take the ball to the basket, and lean on that hook going left. Wouldn't hurt to use some glass every now and again either.