Josh Smith

[Wretch]

Leaders are not always the best scorers on a team. They are the ones that glue the team together. His game at Standford is a testament to his leadership qualities. You might want to do some research...

What I am mainly looking at is his game in the open court, his unselfishness, and his ability to make the right decisions...at this early stage in his career. To someone who is looking for superstar results, it won't mean much. But to people who watch players very closely...you see much more than just a complimentary player.

When he's on the break, I have the utmost confidence in him - and he's a ROOKIE. Doesn't matter whether we have numbers or not...I just know if Chill is running then the right thing is going to happen - whether he has the ball or not. In the half court, I've seen him snake to the basket just like he did in college (much in the same way Pippen used to get to the basket); but the guys in the NBA are much bigger and the defense is much more polished and solid.

As Chill gets more polished and solid (gains weight) I believe that his NBA game will resemble his college game. If we turn this into an uptempo team...it's definitely going to happen.

And Chill will be a focal point of that.

[Employee8]

Hmmm....I think I can see what you're getting at.

However, I always thought of Walker as a Leader....

oh well...CHILL will be Good, period. That's all that matters.

[Wretch]

There's no question about that. The question is how long will he lead this team? How long will he be here? Those are questions you can't answer. In the long run, I see Childress taking on that role...IF he improves. That doesn't mean he won't have help though. Even in the heyday of Dominique, you knew he was getting the ball, you knew it was do or die by how his night was going, but Doc Rivers was just as much the leader of the Hawks team if not moreso.

[Employee8]

Quote:

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There's no question about that. The question is how long will he lead this team? How long will he be here? Those are questions you can't answer. In the long run, I see Childress taking on that role...IF he improves. That doesn't mean he won't have help though. Even in the heyday of Dominique, you knew he was getting the ball, you knew it was do or die by how his night was going, but Doc Rivers was just as much the leader of the Hawks team if not moreso.

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Then perhaps, if by some chance Walker isn't dealt, he can be our Doc Rivers to Smoove's Dominique?

[emeans]

I totally agree with your point. Josh Smith is not a Lebron in any way. Lebrons only come around once in a decade.

However, Josh Smith was more than worthy of being picked at the 6 spot and that was my point.

A lot of people on this forum was angry that we picked him at 17?????? Explain that?? So you know they called me crazy for wanting him at 6 and I didn't understand why.

But no I agree he still has a long way to go. But I will say this Josh Smith can shoot the ball given a chance. Coach Woodson has told him to defer his shots to Walker and Harrington and it is obvious that he is doing this. He has been instructed to do what he is doing and he is just following orders from his coach, but don't get flustered in not thinking this kid can't shoot the rock. He can shoot the rock from the outside given the chance. Once he gets a chance to do this full time you will see. He shot a high percentage on his 3s in Summer League.

[Iman]

I agree Wretch. As we figure the team to develop, probably without Walker, probably with a talented young center and point. Harrington will be our veteran and close to our top player so he'll be one of our leaders. Chill appears to be the other and later I wouldnt be surprised if he is noticeable as the main leader, probably depends alot on who we have at the point. Personality, speaking ability, social skills, etc are important in leaders also. You can watch Chill and see him always doing the right thing on and off the court. He always is into the game although sometimes lost on the court due to being a rookie. I've even seem him trying to be a leader, giving high fives, etc and get ignored by Harrington or Walker. That will change when they no longer think of him as an annoying rookie. On the court the most talented naturally becomes a leader of sort and the person with the ball becomes a leader but all around solid people and players become leaders too.

[TheDude]

Darius Miles needs to go to a team that will give him more playing time. He had that briefly at Portland and did well, now has to compete for time.