killbuckner wrote:COB- the worry with players signing a new contract is that they don't play hard on defense and they take shots on offense that they shouldn't. Josh smith does that and he is a liability on the court- Jefferson does that and you would be hard pressed to even know it. So what would happen if instead the worry was that when you signed a new contract it was the opposite- that players wouldn't try as hard on offense and on Defense they would go for more blocks to pad their stats instead of sticking to high percentage defense. Then Jefferson would be the big worry and you would be hard pressed to know if Josh smith was doing it or not.
Well the Jefferson thing was just sort of a non-sequiter but the Wolves better damn hope the puts more effort into the thing he is bad at, even if it is just to pad his stats - unlike Smith's offense, Jefferson's defense, if it doesn't improve, will keep the Wolves from being a 30 win team unless a Pryzbilla type player is installed next to him.
Anyway, Smith makes stupid decisions but I think he's a guy that has always put pride into his offense. His problem this preseason hasn't been the dumb offensive plays either, which is a good sign. I don't recall him blocking a lot of shots or pulling down a ton of boards last preseason either but for the season he was an above average defensive rebounder at his position.
That being said, I don't mind Woody trying to establish his authority early or pump the team up.
