I think Smoove wants out

[NJHAWK]

Unless he is on vaca or somewhere he cannot be reached this stuff about wanting out could be true. I mean all it would take was one call to Sekou OR EVEN ESPN with a quote saying this is all bogus. I know his dad called but his dad could just be covering the bases in case he HAS to come back to ATL. I know JAy Walker speculted his agent was using this tactic to get the Clips to give him an offer sheet but thats out the window now. Unless Smoove is in real, real quiet talks with the Grizzlies him not coming out and denying this is not helping his cause UNLESS he really wants Woody gone or else.

[WraithSentinel]

It is helping his cause. Look at what this rumor is doing. It is getting people to actually believe it is true. No matter how many times Sekou said there is no truth to it. People still believe it is true.

This rumor is meant to put pressure on the Hawks to pay Smoove what he wants. I doubt his agents allow him to speak on this right now because it could hurt their leverage. If/When Smoove re-signs he will say there was no truth to those rumors.

Right now Smoove has no advantage in terms of teams to offer him a huge offer. His last card to play is he will leave if Woodson is back. I wonder what change from when Sund ask him does he want Woodson back to now? This wasn't an issue earlier in FA. Now all of the sudden it is because he is no longer in the driver seat.

[sturt]

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Unless he is on vaca or somewhere he cannot be reached this stuff about wanting out could be true. I mean all it would take was one call to Sekou OR EVEN ESPN with a quote saying this is all bogus. I know his dad called but his dad could just be covering the bases in case he HAS to come back to ATL. I know JAy Walker speculted his agent was using this tactic to get the Clips to give him an offer sheet but thats out the window now. Unless Smoove is in real, real quiet talks with the Grizzlies him not coming out and denying this is not helping his cause UNLESS he really wants Woody gone or else.

Stretching.

Josh Smith cares about his contract right now, not about public perception of his relationship with his coach. His time and brain are tied up in what kind of contract he will end up with... which makes it especially low on the list of priorities to call ESPN or anyone else. What's more, you would suggest that he would rather endure another 3-4 year rebuilding project than to play with his hometown team with whom he just completed his first playoff run???

This isn't speculation you've offered... it's paranoia.

[NJHAWK]

Well the paranoia seem to have spread from Yahoo to S.I. to ESPN rather quickly. Espn went as far to say Smoove is openly saying he will not come back with Woody there.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

no.

[TroyMcClure]

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Unless he is on vaca or somewhere he cannot be reached this stuff about wanting out could be true. I mean all it would take was one call to Sekou OR EVEN ESPN with a quote saying this is all bogus. I know his dad called but his dad could just be covering the bases in case he HAS to come back to ATL. I know JAy Walker speculted his agent was using this tactic to get the Clips to give him an offer sheet but thats out the window now. Unless Smoove is in real, real quiet talks with the Grizzlies him not coming out and denying this is not helping his cause UNLESS he really wants Woody gone or else.

Stretching.

Josh Smith cares about his contract right now, not about public perception of his relationship with his coach. His time and brain are tied up in what kind of contract he will end up with... which makes it especially low on the list of priorities to call ESPN or anyone else. What's more, you would suggest that he would rather endure another 3-4 year rebuilding project than to play with his hometown team with whom he just completed his first playoff run???

This isn't speculation you've offered... it's paranoia.

I really don't care if he stays or goes. He'd be better off somewhere else. We can't win with Woody and that's just another year wasted in careers that don't last much more than a decade.

[coachx]

Why would a team pay a player more to stay after they publically diss the coach he will play for ?

It is way to push for a sign and trade deal, not away to stay here. I do not see how this would make the Hawks want to spend more money to keep him in Atlanta. Whiners don't make more money for whining. They get shipped out of town to another coach to whine about.

Other coaches around the league are taking note on this. Woody has a reputation for having a long rope and NOT being a control freak like Larry Brown, Skiles, Sloan, Popovich, Dunleavy, Van Gundy ,etc. He left Smoove in games where most coaches would have benched him for poor decisions and shot selection.

I think his rookie agents are harming Smoove's longterm reputation by playing their cards this way................or it is Smoove's true feelings. For a 22 year old guy who already had credibility and maturity issues this is the wrong approach right now.

I hope its his agent's poor decision and not Smith's true feelings.

We will know the truth very soon. Probably within the week.

[AnakinJoe]

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It is helping his cause. Look at what this rumor is doing. It is getting people to actually believe it is true. No matter how many times Sekou said there is no truth to it. People still believe it is true.

This rumor is meant to put pressure on the Hawks to pay Smoove what he wants. I doubt his agents allow him to speak on this right now because it could hurt their leverage. If/When Smoove re-signs he will say there was no truth to those rumors.

Right now Smoove has no advantage in terms of teams to offer him a huge offer. His last card to play is he will leave if Woodson is back. I wonder what change from when Sund ask him does he want Woodson back to now? This wasn't an issue earlier in FA. Now all of the sudden it is because he is no longer in the driver seat.

I'm guessing that there is a team that is willing to pay him more than the Hawks but it will require a S & T to get Smith the money. So his team of agents are floating these rumors in hopes of "forcing" the Hawks into agreeing to the S & T so that Smith's agents get a bigger commission. You may recall that the Warriors were willing to pay Harrington more than Indiana, but our owners preferred the trade exemption over whatever players the Warriors would have offered, so Harrington was stuck with a lower salary. (Warriors made out well in the end because they still got Harrington, but at the reduced salary cost). Anyway, the point is that if one team is willing to pay more, then the incumbent (Hawks) have to agree to make a trade with that team in order for the player to reap the benefits. Like you said, Smith is no longer in the driver's seat but his agents are at least trying to get him out of the booster seat he currently sits in (in the back).

I'd predict that we will soon hear that if Smith rejoins the Hawks, it will be for the one-year QO. They will use that scare tactic to convince the Hawks to try to get long-term value for Smith now via a S & T. Sund's been to plenty of rodeos before, he shouldn't be punked by this latest attempt by a group of agents to get a bundle for their client.

[exodus]

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I'd predict that we will soon hear that if Smith rejoins the Hawks, it will be for the one-year QO.

Smith isn't taking the QO. However i wouldn't be surprised if he misses some of training camp.

[AnakinJoe]

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I'd predict that we will soon hear that if Smith rejoins the Hawks, it will be for the one-year QO.

Smith isn't taking the QO. However i wouldn't be surprised if he misses some of training camp.

I don't think he will take the QO either, but I DO think his agents will make that claim and float that to the media. They don't have much leverage in terms of threats and that is one that they can (and I think will) play.

[Swatguy]

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It is helping his cause. Look at what this rumor is doing. It is getting people to actually believe it is true. No matter how many times Sekou said there is no truth to it. People still believe it is true.

This rumor is meant to put pressure on the Hawks to pay Smoove what he wants. I doubt his agents allow him to speak on this right now because it could hurt their leverage. If/When Smoove re-signs he will say there was no truth to those rumors.

Right now Smoove has no advantage in terms of teams to offer him a huge offer. His last card to play is he will leave if Woodson is back. I wonder what change from when Sund ask him does he want Woodson back to now? This wasn't an issue earlier in FA. Now all of the sudden it is because he is no longer in the driver seat.

The only advantage at this point lies in the ability (JSmith's agents) to line up interest of other clients for the Hawks.

Prather (AAU guy) is an agent of sorts for Morris and Javaris. If they offer the Hawks either or try to hard ball the team in any case they can negotiate good will towards JSmith.

Otherwise JSmith got his balls out there in the street.

[JackB1]

I am shocked that this stuff didn't come out before we resigned Woodson. Looks like the ASG chose Woodson over Smoove.

But I say if Smoove wants to complain instead of play here in ATL, let him go and get some good value for him in a S&T. We already have our PF of the future in Al, so getting other valuable missing pieces would actually help us out more in the long run, assuming Sund makes the right deals. Smoove doesn't seem "coach-able" to me, so he may not ever develop to his full potential and this may be close his peak already. Smoove can be equally as frustrating as he is exciting to watch. One part of me wants him to stay and another part wouldn't mind seeing him in another uniform.

[crimedog]

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I am shocked that this stuff didn't come out before we resigned Woodson. Looks like the ASG chose Woodson over Smoove.

But I say if Smoove wants to complain instead of play here in ATL, let him go and get some good value for him in a S&T. We already have our PF of the future in Al, so getting other valuable missing pieces would actually help us out more in the long run, assuming Sund makes the right deals. Smoove doesn't seem "coach-able" to me, so he may not ever develop to his full potential and this may be close his peak already. Smoove can be equally as frustrating as he is exciting to watch. One part of me wants him to stay and another part wouldn't mind seeing him in another uniform.

When has Smith ever said anything like this to anyone? When has anyone reported that they've heard Smith say this?

He isn't saying anything, people are reporting that people who may know people who may work for Smith are saying something.

There is no new story here - until Smith's agent says that he wants out, I'm not going to flip out.

[NJHAWK]

TWO WORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS There I said it, I couldnt hold back any longer.

[Zone034life]

This thread is full of people ready for Smoove to be traded. Some of you are finally starting to be honest about it though. I would much rather listen to Al Horford than any of you though.

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I could play a little more [power forward] if they need me to, but I feel comfortable playing at

and [power forward]. That's actually one of the reasons that I feel getting Josh Smith back here is so crucial. Because I feel like we have some great mismatches when the two of us are out there together. I think it's what makes both of us more effective, being out there together. We never got totally overwhelmed by anybody. And I can't imagine being out there and him not having my back on every play.

Like I said in the past Al and Josh have chemistry on the floor. I will go on to say that if Smoove isn't back it will hurt Al more than it willl help him. Al is watching this situation closely and it will impact him returning to the Hawks or not.

[AtLaS]

There is a reason hardly any of the FAs are making statements right now. He is being advised not to do so. Do you really think Sekou and other people haven't tried to get an interview with Smith?

Nothing negative can be drawn from this, don't start buying the BS that Ric Bucher started.

And yes, you see it on Yahoo, ESPN, and SI, because they ALL report the same stories. Whichever one reports it first, the others report the same thing soon after, even if the article was written and made up by ONE person.

EDIT: Remember when Jack Haley reported that Boozer was getting traded to LA? EVERYONE reported it thereafter, and the trade never happened.

[WraithSentinel]

The only reason I would want Smoove traded is if he end up having a Michael Vick effect on the Hawks fanbase. What I mean by that is divide the fanbase into Smoove fans and Hawks fans.

[crimedog]

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The only reason I would want Smoove traded is if he end up having a Michael Vick effect on the Hawks. What I mean by that is divide the fanbase into Smoove fans and Hawks fans.

The vast majority of casual fans in the city LOVE Smith, to most fans he is the face of the franchise. Outside of Atlanta he is as well known, if not moreso, than Joe.

Beyond that, Mike Vick filled seats for the Falcons. How many more people came to games, watched games, cared about the Falcons, because of MV? I wouldn't complain if we had that problem.

[Zone034life]

Wasn't referring to you but read NJ,AnakinJoe,JackB1 and Coachx's post. They are proving in multiple threads they don't think Smoove wants to come back or they don't want him back.

[coachx]

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Wasn't referring to you but read NJ,AnakinJoe,JackB1 and Coachx's post. They are proving in multiple threads they don't think Smoove wants to come back or they don't want him back.

That is ridiculous. I have repeatedly said I want Smith back. I just wish he wanted the same thing. I am dissapointed with the way he is allowing the situation to be handled by throwing mud in Woodson's face.

This has gone on for a week now and Smith has done nothing to refute the reports.

Everyone wants Smith in Atlanta but Smith himself it seems to me ! If he wanted to be here he could be in Atlanta meeting with Sund this very moment.

NJ never said he wants Smith gone. All he said was he thinks Smith wants out based on media reports and the lack of Smith refuting those reports and standing up for his coach.. That is much different.

All Ankin Joe did was specualte as to why Smith is not refuting the reports. If anything that is taking up for Smith....not wanting to kick him to the curb.

You should re-read the post and see what people are really saying.