Woody or Smoove?

[td00]

I posed this question a few weeks ago, and conley thought that was a ridiculous question.
Now, what do we see about Smoove no longer wanting to play for Woody (SI.com)? It tells you the ASG has a different opinion about Smoove's value and leadership abilities for this team by bringing the incumbent coach back.
Right or wrong, this team is not going in the right direction with the smidgen of success that was last year.
Now, I will admit to being wrong because I thought Smoove would easily get a $70M offer, but no one is test the ASG to bring the money to the table. Why? Is Smoove considered not valuable across the league when Kirilenko makes $15M+/year?
Its like Smoove is being blackballed by the teams available to make him an offer. A little overboard, but how can he not even get an offer from anyone?
The ASG has a few problems to worry about, and getting the Joshes said and done isn't coming easy.

Whether taken out of context or a no comment, the Hawks are going to lose in all of this.

[Rod700]

Below is a link, but Hoopshype.com is very speculative. I take everything they say with a grain of salt.

http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm

Can't we just match an offer and re-sign him whether he wants to play here or not?

[ATLfan]

After hearing about Smoove's dad calling Sekou I think this is all a bunch of BS started by Ric Bucher and right now we're seeing the domino effect of his comments.

[killbuckner]

If he signs an offersheet then the Hawks can match. His only other choice would be to sign the 1 year Qualifying offer and become an UFA next offseason. But given how low that QO is then that is HIGHLY unlikely. if he really doesn't want to be in Atlanta then he would probably just demand a S&T though the Hawks wouldn't have to accommodate that.

[Rod700]

If he signs an offersheet then the Hawks can match. His only other choice would be to sign the 1 year Qualifying offer and become an UFA next offseason. But given how low that QO is then that is HIGHLY unlikely. if he really doesn't want to be in Atlanta then he would probably just demand a S&T though the Hawks wouldn't have to accommodate that.

Thanks KB, that's about what I was thinking. If he really was that disgruntled (which I don't think he is), I would resign him (I agree he probably wouldn't go for the qualifying offer to be a FA next year). Then I would do something symbolic to appease him, like acquiring a player he wants to play with, if I could find one that fits my plan for the team.

That's sort of an off-the-cuff idea that I'm not married to, but it's an interesting question. Does anyone know of players that Smoove has stated he would like to play with, or that he admires?

[conleyorbust]

By the way, the quote from the SI.com article and the one rod has up is this:

The Hawks would likely raise the five-year, $45 million offer that Smith turned down last summer, but money will not be the only factor in the talented young power forward returning to Atlanta. As I previously reported in Sports Illustrated, 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.

The same thing Bucher said (Bucher could be the "league source"), the same thing Smith's family denied.

Until there is something substantial, I can't see this being anything more than an agent's ploy or the same ol', look at the sidelines, see they don't get along, make a story up - trick.

[lethalweapon3]

Then I would do something symbolic to appease him, like acquiring a player he wants to play with, if I could find one that fits my plan for the team.

How 'bout Lou Williams? I'd suppose he'd be an upgraded replacement for Salim and is good buds with Smith.

~lw3

[ATLfan]

Then I would do something symbolic to appease him, like acquiring a player he wants to play with, if I could find one that fits my plan for the team.

How 'bout Lou Williams? I'd suppose he'd be an upgraded replacement for Salim and is good buds with Smith.

~lw3

We're already looking at Randolph Morris who is pretty good friends with Josh but I doubt we go after Lou because he will cost more than we are looking to spend.

[killbuckner]

Lou WIlliams is a RFA anyway

[conleyorbust]

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared ... ajc/hawks/

Sekou saying that this is all nonsense again...

Also pointing out, like I have, that Woody doesn't get along with a lot of his players so reading into tension b/w the two is a little much.

It was a comment, sorry:

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.

[Hawks]

I was waiting for the domino effect of this story. It should be interesting to see how this story plays out across this board and perhaps others. What a fun day this should be. The trade topics in the trading forum may pick up for Smoove.

[evildallas]

Well, I didn't want Woodson retained at all, so it's not much of a decision for me.

[IDoIt4TheA]

If this it true, then this is all the more reason that the ASG should've resigned Smith before the season started. I dislike Woodson and did not want him back, if we lose Smith because of him I will really hate Woody then.

If Sund talked to all the players about how they feel about Woodson, it doesn't seem like he took anything the players said into consideration. The only one I heard that said they wanted Woodson back was JJ. I know he's our "franchise" player right now but I wouldn't think the consensus of the other players would be to bring him back. Maybe they were all high of the playoffs and were delusional when they talked to Sund.

[FCNATL85]

If true, I say Woody and get good value for JS through S&T...
Zaza, JS and future pick for Stoudamire?

Amare
Horford
Marvin
JJ
Bibby ...that's a pretty decent starting 5.
OK, won't happen.

[JoshB914]

You guys are really buying this crap? Bucher reported it for god sakes. I hope to find out what a "league source" is someday. But I have a feeling that a lot of the time it is actually an "I can't think of anything to writehere because I'm an awful reporter and no one will talk to me so I'll write something I read on hoopshype and it call it inside info." Who the hell is this Mannix idiot anyway? Honestly, as a journalist who is just getting his start I find crap like this downright offensive.

If the biggest RFA on the market wanted out of Atlanta we would have heard it from a more reliable source. And no that does not count Bucher on 680 and some loser who no one has ever heard of.

Sekou's article sets things straight. The guy speaks the truth time and time again, I'd love to see him replace one of these "NBA Insider" idiots some day.

[HoopsGuru25]

The national media has no inside sources on the Hawks. Sekou had been the first to report every major story on the Hawks with the exception of the Shelden promise(which was obvious after the Hawks and Shelden shutdown the workout process weeks before everyone else). There have been several stories over the years that people obviously pulled out of their ass that people just seem to forget.

[conleyorbust]

The national media has no inside sources on the Hawks. Sekou had been the first to report every major story on the Hawks with the exception of the Shelden promise(which was obvious after the Hawks and Shelden shutdown the workout process weeks before everyone else). There have been several stories over the years that people obviously pulled out of their ass that people just seem to forget.

Eh, its that time of summer when people want to get excited about things. Smith elicits the most visceral reactions out of most diehard fans so you have people who will believe the worst.

[evildallas]

You guys are really buying this crap? Bucher reported it for god sakes.

Actually I don't buy this crap, but if I forced to choice between a player I like that plays hard and has skills and a coach I don't like and that I see blunder on a regular basis it is an easy choice. If Woodson was a great coach then my opinion might be different as I tend to dislike players that put themselves ahead of the organization. There's no proof that's happening here of real dissension here. To me this story has as much credibility as those commentaries saying that Smith is an immature hot head because of a few incidents as a few years ago. It's easy to extrapolate from one or two incidents and create your own rumors from conjecture.

The truth is a lot of players don't like their coaches. If the coach wins then the players give him respect even if they can't stand him. If the coach loses then he won't be the players problem for long.

[JoshB914]

I'd even take Smoove over a coach I actually did like. This is a players league, you need personnel first and then coaching. And in my opinion Josh is on the fast track to stardom.

Anyways, I thought Sekou's article on the situation was a great read. Every time I read one of his blogs I learn something new.

[killbuckner]

I would take "Woody" over "Smoove" just because Smoove is the worst nickname in the league. I'd certainly take Josh Smith over woodson though. The players on the court are far more important than who the coach is. (and Doc Rivers has settled this argument forever as far as I am concerned)