Smith waiting for payday, playing like dead weight
BOSTON — Congratulations are in order for Atlanta Hawks small forward Josh Smith. In a matter of two seasons, he has gone from a player who finally seemed to be getting it to the poster child for everything still wrong in the NBA.
Smith is about to be a free agent, and he’s all but holding the Hawks hostage with his intentions. It’s nothing new — see Dwight Howard the last two years. The difference is Smith appears to have quit on his organization.
In an embarrassing 97-58 loss to the Bulls last Monday, Smith looked as disconnected from his teammates as any player I’ve seen in years. Firing up bad shots, horrible body language . . . here was a player with All-Star talent choosing to play like a bum.
Then, before the game Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets, Hawks general manager Danny Ferry announced a one-game suspension for Smith for ‘‘conduct detrimental to the team’’ after an incident in practice the previous day. Coincidentally, the Hawks beat the Nets without him.
If Smith wants out of Atlanta or is fed up, no problem. The problem is turning a playoff team into a lottery team because of how he decides to carry himself on and off the court as he’s walking out the door.
The sad thing is that Smith will get paid this offseason. He’s one of the premier free agents, with the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets among the teams lining up to reward him like one.
As it stands now, Smith is on the All-Mike Singletary Team, which means, ‘‘Cannot play with them, cannot win with them, cannot coach with them. Can’t do it.’’
Remember when people thought LeBron James was going to Miami to play Robin to Dwyane Wade’s Batman? That was funny. James was and always has been Batman.
Don’t look now, but the surging Indiana Pacers are just weeks away from possibly getting injured star Danny Granger back.
Further evidence that NBA commissioner David Stern is losing it? He thinks the Detroit Pistons need not worry about moving downtown and that playing at the Palace of Auburn Hills is just fine.