Rejuvenated in Atlanta, Josh Smith holds out hope for Dwight Howard

[GameTime]

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LAS VEGAS -- When last we checked in with Josh Smith in mid-March, he was a young man conflicted. The dynamic forward who spent all eight of his seasons in Atlanta reportedly wanted a change, a trade that would remove him from a team with a payroll so bloated that Smith understandably questioned what it meant for his long-term future.

Changes came, of course, but not the kind Smith envisioned. A new general manager arrived in late June, when former Cleveland GM and San Antonio executive Danny Ferry replaced longtime Hawks GM Rick Sund. A revamped roster came soon after, as Ferry dealt shooting guard Joe Johnson -- and the four years and nearly $90 million remaining on his contract -- to Brooklyn in a money-saving trade that has shifted the Hawks into rebuilding mode after five consecutive postseason berths.

Suddenly, circumstances have changed. And coming off a season in which he averaged 18.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, Smith doesn't seem so eager to get out of town anymore.

Similar to many other teams, the Hawks are creating financial flexibility with the hope that one of the league's elusive stars will come to Atlanta either via trade or in the next round of free agency. Orlando center Dwight Howard certainly tops that list, and the Hawks -- while seemingly an afterthought -- have been among the teams in talks with the Magic. They want to acquire the player who grew up in Atlanta and counts Smith as one of his closest friends.

Like Howard, Smith has one year left on his contract (worth $13.2 million). But unlike Howard, Smith isn't set on leaving the team with which he spent his entire career.

"It's interesting," Smith said this week in an interview with SI.com. "I think we have a great GM in Danny Ferry, and he has a plan that he's putting together. It looks good. I really am just trying to get to know these guys, to build a relationship and see where the team is going to end up closer to veterans' camp. I'm just excited. We have a lot of elite shooters, and I can see us being a run-and-gun shooting team."

Asked if he still wants to be traded, Smith promptly responded, "No."

That mentality was in full effect in Las Vegas, where Smith visited with new assistant general manager Wes Wilcox near the top of the stands at Cox Pavilion. The two had never met before they sat down together on Sunday. They spoke about everything from the franchise's future to Smith's young daughter, Genesis, and son, Josh, during a friendly chat that lasted longer than half an hour.

Wilcox touched on the Hawks' influx of shooters, rookie John Jenkins (the 23rd pick in last month's draft, from Vanderbilt), four-year pro Anthony Morrow (obtained in the Johnson deal) and three-point specialist Kyle Korver, the 31-year-old who arrived Monday in a trade with the Bulls. Jenkins was viewed as one of the best pure shooters in the draft and has impressed coaches thus far on the summer league circuit. He will play on a rookie-scale deal that could arguably be labeled the anti-Joe Johnson contract (it will pay him about $1 million next season). Korver, meanwhile, has just one year and an affordable $5 million remaining on his deal.

The run-and-gun portion of the program will be handled by new point guard Devin Harris, whose $8.5 million expiring contract was acquired from Utah in exchange for forward Marvin Williams, and newly signed guard Lou Williams, who averaged 14.9 points for Philadelphia last season. All of the additions will give the Hawks' offense a new look after years of relying on Johnson as the first option. In the trade with Brooklyn for the six-time All-Star, Atlanta received a lottery-protected first-round pick in 2013, the Nets' second-round pick in 2017 and a package of players with expiring contracts: Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Jordan Williams, Johan Petro and DeShawn Stevenson. Only Williams, Jenkins and two-time All-Star center Al Horford (four years, $36 million remaining) are on the books for the 2013-14 season and beyond.

"I played a lot of years with Joe," said Smith, who spent seven of his eight seasons with Johnson. "I built a relationship with him, like a brother relationship. And to see somebody depart that you've been playing with for so long, it's tough. But at the end of the day, it's still a business and I wish him the best. I definitely wish him the best."

Smith isn't expecting Howard to join him anytime soon, but he certainly welcomes the possibility. The two friends still keep in close contact, whether it's having dinner together or Smith checking in on Howard to see how he's handling the never-ending trade rumors.

"You never know" about getting Howard, Smith said. "I mean, everybody has a possibility of getting him. To have a guy of that caliber would definitely be awesome. But he has so much going on right now that I don't want to clutter his head with any more of it. I know that he's going through a lot right now with that decision, and it's a long process for him. I don't really bother him about it. I just call him sometimes to check up on him and see what he's doing."

According to Smith, the Hawks haven't told him of any specific plans.

"I haven't heard anything concrete yet," he said. "I'm just getting to know these people, and I think later on the summer or even during the season we'll come together and discuss the plans on going forward with the team."

After a complete roster overhaul, those plans are just getting started. But for now, they appear to include Smith staying put.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/07/17/josh-smith-hawks-dwight-howard/index.html#ixzz20vl3mkl1

Edited July 18, 2012 by Dolfan23
Added article for archiving purposes

[ag82]

Asked if he still wants to be traded, Smith promptly responded, "No."

[buckwheat]

Good article. Thanks :)

[phoostal]

I guess the forgot Teague was part of the roster in that article.

[Brotha2ThaNite]

"I really am just trying to get to know these guys, to build a relationship and see where the team is going to end up closer to veterans' camp"

Asked if he still wants to be traded, Smith promptly responded, "No."

Just call me Nostradamus

[Brotha2ThaNite]

Wes Wilcox near the top of the stands at Cox Pavilion. The two had never met before they sat down together on Sunday. They spoke about everything from the franchise's future to Smith's young daughter, Genesis, and son, Josh, during a friendly chat that lasted longer than half an hour.

Awesome!

[Gray Mule]

I guess the forgot Teague was part of the roster in that article.

Did the writer of this article trade JT away and not tell any of us? Yeah, it was that obvious that they completely ignored him. JT is being treated, by the media, like the red headed step child that no one wants to admit exists. Too bad. I like Jeff.

[Brotha2ThaNite]

I believe more than anything now.... Howard will be a Hawk in 2013. Bank it!The reasons why the Magic are having a hard time trading him is because Howard wants to be a FA. (i.e. sign with the Hawks).

Edited July 17, 2012 by Brotha2ThaNite

[EazyRoc]

I believe more than anything now.... Howard will be a Hawk in 2013. Bank it! The reasons why the Magic are having a hard time trading him is because Howard wants to be a FA. (i.e. sign with the Hawks).

I really hope you're right, but I just don't see it happening.

[DatWerkk]

I believe more than anything now.... Howard will be a Hawk in 2013. Bank it! The reasons why the Magic are having a hard time trading him is because Howard wants to be a FA. (i.e. sign with the Hawks).

Just curious, how did you get that out of that article? Because what I got was that Josh Smith isn't doing ANYTHING to help recruit D12, because in his mind doing so would just make his friend's life more difficult. So if anything, we lost the hope/belief that Howard might be influenced because his bff Josh Smith is recruiting him hard. This article also made me wonder if while Smoove was unhappy if he was feeding Howard some NEGATIVE things about the franchise that would make Howard want to stay away. Doesn't seem out of the realm of possibilities...

[Admin]

Just curious, how did you get that out of that article? Because what I got was that Josh Smith isn't doing ANYTHING to help recruit D12, because in his mind doing so would just make his friend's life more difficult. So if anything, we lost the hope/belief that Howard might be influenced because his bff Josh Smith is recruiting him hard. This article also made me wonder if while Smoove was unhappy if he was feeding Howard some NEGATIVE things about the franchise that would make Howard want to stay away. Doesn't seem out of the realm of possibilities...

I kind of like that Josh isn't in Dwight's head trying to get him convinced about joining Atlanta. This way he can sit back and be the good friend who's actually looking out for his friends sanity... if Dwight has any left LOL Great article though, thanks for posting it!

[Jody23]

While I would caution optimism, here are a couple of things that can be taken away from this article:1. Josh is on record, more than once this offseason, as saying his goal is to win a title.2. When asked directly if he STILL wanted to be traded, intead of giving some pc "I've got one year left under contract" answer, he quickly answered "no". This would indicate that he previously did want to be traded, but has now changed that stance. It appears that Josh is hopeful about something. We can only hope whatever it is is concrete.

[Guest Walter]

Just curious, how did you get that out of that article? Because what I got was that Josh Smith isn't doing ANYTHING to help recruit D12, because in his mind doing so would just make his friend's life more difficult. So if anything, we lost the hope/belief that Howard might be influenced because his bff Josh Smith is recruiting him hard. This article also made me wonder if while Smoove was unhappy if he was feeding Howard some NEGATIVE things about the franchise that would make Howard want to stay away. Doesn't seem out of the realm of possibilities...

Believe me. Just as JS was dissing the franchise before they brought in Ferry, he's talking it up now (and rightly so in both cases). JS is talking to him right now. You don't think DH hasn't read that article? Moreover, I wouldn't believe JS hasn't brought it up to DH personally. W

[Nicholasp27]

Before he knew we couldn't re-sign him to large $$$ without making the team even worseNow he knows we could max him and keep al/Teague and still get a max player, so of course he wants to stay If he won't stop taking jumpers with all the sharpshooters we have around him next year then even the diehard holdouts should give up hope on him playing to his strengths

[Jody23]

Before he knew we couldn't re-sign him to large $$$ without making the team even worse Now he knows we could max him and keep al/Teague and still get a max player, so of course he wants to stay If he won't stop taking jumpers with all the sharpshooters we have around him next year then even the diehard holdouts should give up hope on him playing to his strengths

I agree, but I would add that Josh realized how good Joe was and that while he was overpaid, he wasn't chopped liver. Still, this team couldn't get past the second round. If Josh truly wants to win a title as he says, I think he's smart enough to know that the Hawks can't tie up unrealistic dollars in him and just go out and sign just any max guy. He knows that it's got to be better than that to work.

[Bahamut]

good friend who's actually looking out for his friends sanity... if Dwight has any left LOL

Ouch!

[Admin]

Ouch!

I meant sanity, not good friends LOL

[NJHAWK]

http://atlanta.sbnation.com/atlanta-hawks/2012/7/17/3166095/hawks-trade-rumors-josh-smith Some more quotes from Smoove including answering " NO " when asked if he wanted to be traded.

[Supporter]

Yay, now we get to build around two tweener forwards!!! (sarcasm)

[NJHAWK]

Yay, now we get to build around two tweener forwards!!! (sarcasm)

Smoove is our leader and the face of our franchise now. Im pretty happy Ferry showed him some love and got him on board with his future plans. Whether you like it or not ( Im fine with it ) we need Josh Smith.