Josh Smith Refuses to Play For Mike Woodson
Which way will the Camby deal steer J-Smoove?The Hawks faithful are cheering this morning as Marcus Camby heads to the Clippers, possibly filling the void that was slated for Josh Smith. But they shouldn’t get ahead of themselves. First of all, even with Camby’s $8 million and Baron Davis‘ $11 million (about) next season, the Clippers still have enough room to get J-Smoove on board for slightly more than the five-year, $45 million offer he turned down from Atlanta last summer.
Now that we’ve burst that bubble, get ready for a bombshell. Even if the Hawks can bring a bit more cake to the party than some other suitors, (Clippers, Grizzlies) Smith is reportedly refusing to play for Mike Woodson.
League sources say Smith is not interested in returning to the Hawks if Mike Woodson, who just signed a new two-year contract to remain with Atlanta, is the head coach. The two have butted heads frequently in Smith’s four seasons with the Hawks, and sources say the relationship is beyond repair. With a dearth of offers, Smith may change his tune but having a volatile relationship on such a young team may not be in the Hawks’ best interests.
Maybe the Camby trade was a way for Mike Dunleavy & Co. to fortify their sales pitch to Smith. Even if he’s going to chew up a serious portion of Smith’s “megadeal,” he’ll help to make the Clippers serious contenders.
On their call this morning, maybe Mike Dunleavy can start by asking, “So Josh, what do you think about being part of one of the greatest shotblocking tandems of all time?”
Source: SI.com
July 16th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Truth says:
FINALLY someone can’t see that idiot Mike Woodson can’t freakin coach!! The dude is horrible!! Who gave J-smoove common sense? Common sense rapped and gave J-smoove common sense/the sense/to sense/cents/ain’t all to it/if the coach is all stupid!!! LOL!!!!
July 16th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Imperial-Mel says:
J-Smoov, couldnt agree with you more!!
Go ahead and go to the Clips…they are 200’s piece together team, like the Celtics of this yr. Plus the retro jerseys are fire!!!
July 16th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Logan Light says:
Josh… you are a freak in the talent department. You’ve shown signs of being unstoppable. You’ve played with passion, and helped to take the Celtics deep in the playoffs… Forget the Clippers. Head on over to the Rich and Creamy Nuggets for a run and gun system that will cause you to salivate on a regular basis. J-Smoov, AI, and Melo… Oh, and JR Smith of course!
Doesn’t that sound great?
July 16th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Luigi says:
J-Smoove. DONT BE STUPID! play for a dynasty in the making [ATL] not for ateam who wants to win NOW. kmon.
if he stays the NBA finals will be ATL vs POR. for years to come if u really think about it unless the Spurs decide to get youth n Kobe finds the fountain of youth in 3-4 yrs.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Truth says:
@Luigi
Dynasties have good coaches bruh.
Red, Phil, poppivich, Riley.
Atlanta will NEVER, I repeat NEVER be a dynasty with a bum like Mike Woodson as coach!!
July 16th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Kobeef says:
@Luigi
Atlantia is a good young team. I like them. Dynasty in the making is just taking it too far. Any recent dynasty has had one of the best players in NBA history on the team (Shaq/Kobe, Duncan, Jordan). Atlanta does not have one of those players. Not close.
If I’m Atlanta I cut my losses and let him walk.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Eazy-Yi says:
he probably wants to play in the cliche “bigger market”.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:32 am
DaPro says:
@ Truth
I’m with you fam, no way in HELL Woodson/Brown (it’s the same dude) wins a chip. They run the same play, ISO your best player or mismatch
July 16th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Brown says:
Atlanta should look at a sign-and-trade for him. They could trade him to a good team and get something significant back.
July 16th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
tim says:
Brown….
like the Pistons perhaps? Could they do Billups straight up?
Stuckey
Rip
Prince
Smith
Sheed
Bench…Afflalo, McDyess, Maxiell, Amir, Sharpe, Samb,
thats a pretty nice frontline. And a good backcourt too.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Bruce says:
go to the clips with u camby thortton mobley and diddy u can make some noise in the west.. with that run and gun still and u and camby on ya rejection campaign y not
July 16th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
nick says:
the help defense on the clips would be insane if josh ended up there.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
mavid says:
LOL Dime… do your research.
Yall got that from a Ric Bucher article. As he does often, Mr. Bucher flat out made some stuff up.
The following was written by Sekou Smith (the Atlanta Hawks BEAT reporter that follows the team full time… dude is a very good bball journalist). This came from a post underneath his latest blog:
By Sekou K. Smith
July 16, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
I saw the story on SI’s website and I’ll say it again for the umpteenth time, neither Smith nor anyone else affiliated with him has ever said (on or off the record) that he doesn’t want to be here or doesn’t want to play for Woodson.
Despite their very public dust ups in the past, Smith and Woodson had a smooth (no pun intended) working relationship this past season. Are they going to be spotted at each other’s houses partying anytime soon? Probably not. But neither are any of his teammates.
But you’d be surprised, his relationship with Woodson is better than Woodson’s relationship with some other guys on the team (lots of guys chafed under Woodson’s gruff style the past four years but didn’t shoot back at him the way Smith did).
What I can tell you for a fact is that when the new general manager sat down with all the players and asked them for their honest opinions on all things, including Woodson (and this was before Woodson received his contract extension), Smith is one of the players that didn’t have a single bad thing to say about Woodson (I know of at least two other guys that didn’t hold back and let Woodson have it). So even if he felt it deep down, Smith never voiced it to Rick Sund or anyone else.
Listen, the kid’s 22 and had some dust ups with his coach. Big deal. I think far too much has been made of all the drama. I’ll aslo point out that those rifts were far from a one-sided deal. Woodson owns just as much of the blame for those dust ups as Smith does.
But they’ve never allowed that stuff to keep them from being able to work together. And Woodson knows better than anyone how important Smith is to the Hawks’ cause now and in the future, so don’t believe all the hype about their frayed relationship.
Those two will work together just fine if (and really when) Smith’s new deal is done.
Any comments on that Dime?
Haha.. yall honestly think Smoove is gonna take LESS money to go play with the Clips?? Yall are REACHING on this one. Smoove is gonna sign a 5-year 55-60 million deal. Just watch.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Dime Magazine says:
@ Mavid…
Thanks for pointing that out. But even if Sekou Smith set the record straight on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog, this story has already spread all over the Internet and will probably pop up on ESPN’s afternoon programming. Unfortunately if Smith and Woodson’s relationship is as chummy as Sekou makes it seem, the fact that this story is all over the place will create a stir.
One last thing about the five-year $55-60 million deal you’re proposing… The Clippers can ink him to the exact same thing. With Baron and Camby, the Clippers’ team subtotal is about $47 million. With the cap at $58, they have $11 million in space for the ‘08-09 season. If the money is the same – or favors the Hawks by a bit – it’s a valid question… Does Smith stay in Atlanta, where there is some sort of issue (bigger or smaller than the public perception) or does he go to a bigger media market to play for an exciting young team with a chance to have an impact in the West?
July 16th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Diego says:
If I am Smoove, I would seriously think about L.A. I am not that charmed by Baron Davis (who physically seemed about ready to retire near the end of his Hornetts days, but somehow found a tonic to stay healthy in G.S.). But Thornton and Kaman are the real deal. (Baron will be bought out and working at ESPN or as a cheap hired gun for the Celtics before his Cippers deal runs out.)
But I am a big Hawks fan, so I hope Smoove stay here (and I’d love to buy Woodson a one-way ticket out of town anytime–hopefully, he will be hearing some real boo birds as he leads the Hawks nowhere the next 2 years).
July 16th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
mavid says:
Dime,
The thing is though, Smoove is a RESTRICTED free agent… the Clips can no longer offer a deal that the Hawks wont match. The Grizzlies now stand as the only team that could offer Smoove a deal that could make the Hawks blink, and they’re not spending this summer.
Contrary to what Mr. Bucher “reports,” Smoove won’t force a sign and trade either (like Joe Johnson did). The guy loves playing in ATL, reps his city HARD (he has “home team” tattooed on his body), and really likes playing with guys like Al Horford and Joe Johnson.
And trust me, Smoove wont force a sign and trade. The other day I was listening to a sports talk show in the ATL area, and Smoove’s DAD of all people called in to call the SI story pure rubbish. Smoove and Woody have a fine working relationship. The “dust ups” have been the result of him being 21 or under the past few years.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
johnny says:
I would take Camby and Josh over Brand any day.
The Clips are already set for a big improvement. They basically didn’t have Brand last year. Cap aside, it’s as if they already traded Maggette for Baron/Gordon/Camby.
Sean Livingston looks like the league’s biggest mystery.