russkopp wrote:There must have been internal issues involving Smith. Jennings had a quote to the free press that wasn't flattering.
Something like, "if you wanna make the most money and be the big dog and you can't perform, everyone's gonna wonder what's wrong with you."
even for jennings, quotes like that don't happen if they lost a good teammate who just wasn't fitting in.
* "We all know in this league and there's no hiding it, when you're making the big bucks and you're the guy, and you don't produce, fans and media look at you like what's going on?" said point guard Brandon Jennings. "And that goes for anybody in this league." *
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports ... /20761745/* "Nobody knew about this, as far as players," forward Greg Monroe said. "Everyone walked to the locker room with the same face, the same thoughts like we didn't know that was about to happen. It's definitely something that's surprising to everyone."
Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings agreed with Monroe, calling the news "very surprising."
"In this league you never know what's going to happen so you're always looking over your shoulder at times," Jennings said.
Jennings didn't think the adjustment affected the mood of the team in practice but it's still early. Van Gundy still plans to sit down with each player individually to get their thoughts.
Smith caught a lot of flack from Detroit fans during his short stint but contrary to popular belief his teammates didn't find it hard to play alongside him. Playing out of position most of last year, as a small forward, certainly didn't help his case.
"He was cool, real laid back," Jennings said. "He was always talking to guys, trying to encourage guys and things like that.
"We all know in this league when you're making the big bucks on the team and you're that guy, fans and the media and everybody are kind of looking like 'What's going on?' and that goes for anybody in this league." *
http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... hocke.htmlVery very interesting quotes.