K-Mart says he will put his paycheck on Smooth

[Admin]

winning the dunk contest. Gotta love the respect that the young fella is getting.

ATLANTA - Earlier this season, Kenyon Martin vowed to bet a paycheck on Josh Smith winning the slam-dunk contest.

The offer still stands.

"Oh, yeah," Martin said Monday. "That young kid can jump. To win a dunk contest, you've got to be creative. He's going to try to do it."

Martin, a forward for the Denver Nuggets, and Smith, a rookie forward for the Atlanta Hawks, share the same agent. They will meet tonight at Philips Arena for the first time and, naturally, Martin hopes not to get dunked on.

Smith might end up being the favorite in Saturday's contest at the Pepsi Center during All-Star Weekend. Smith said Monday he has been invited with rookie guard J.R. Smith of the New Orleans Hornets and Phoenix Suns big man Amare Stoudemire.

The NBA has yet to officially announce the participants. A source close to the situation said the league is willing to wait perhaps until the day of the competition if it means getting the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James as the fourth entry.

If James opts not to dunk, the NBA will turn to Hornets forward Chris Andersen, who represented Denver in last year's contest.

Yes, the "Birdman" will be waiting in the wings.

"I'm a last-minute person," James said.

While James is vacillating, Josh Smith is practicing.

"I've got some tricks," he said. "I'm looking forward to going out there to try to win."

Josh Smith respects his opponents. He said J.R. Smith also has "some tricks" and that Stoudemire is a "powerful dunker."

Josh Smith, though, wants to make Martin proud.

"I'm going to try not to let him down," he said.

[cyman3]

well, if ur making K-MART type money... u have the luxury to bet a weeks worth of work on a bet.

but back to the point- im glad Smoove is getting more attention. Im just curious tho, how big is he? is he still a secret or are other fans from other teams starting to recognize the kid?

[Final_quest]

The other day I saw a poll on espn.com for who deserves ROY, and Josh Smith was one of 4 or 5 names along with Howard, Okafor, and Gordon. People are noticing him.

[TheDude]

let's hope he continues to work hard and develop. i see nothing to think otherwise but he's becoming the face of the Hawks..

[Employee8]

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let's hope he continues to work hard and develop. i see nothing to think otherwise but he's becoming the face of the Hawks..

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I agree, although Antoine is not far behind in that respect either.