Josh Smith: Why Hawks Forward Will Remain in Atlanta This Season

Trade rumors continue to swirl around Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, but the likelihood of Smith playing for another team this season isn't high.

According to SI.com, a number of teams have been rumored to be interested in the 6'9" forward—including the Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs—but is there any weight to the speculation?

I touched on all the Smith updates yesterday, and after sorting through all of the rumors, I have come to the conclusion that he's not going anywhere.

If he were to leave the Hawks, Brooklyn would likely be the landing spot, as the Nets are willing to part with Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks to acquire Smith, but that's not likely enough for Atlanta, says ESPN's Chris Broussard.

It'd be an absolute steal for the Nets if they could get Smith and only lose Humphries and Brooks in the deal, but the odds of that happening aren't high.

The New York Daily News' Mitch Lawrence reports that Brooklyn isn't confident in its ability to land Smith and has now shifted its focus toward Utah Jazz big man Paul Millsap.

The Spurs recently came out of the woodwork to join the Smith discussion, but there haven't been any mentions of whom San Antonio would be willing to offer for Smith.

Besides, a star like Smith doesn't exactly fit what the Spurs are accustomed to doing with their roster—acquiring big-name, expensive free agents.

So what does that leave us with?

Smith staying in Atlanta—at least for the remainder of the 2012-13 season.

ESPN's Marc Stein already notified us that the Atlanta organization isn't going to deal Smith unless a "bona fide star player" is coming to the Hawks.

With no team really pushing to make a deal for the ninth-year man, the Hawks may just hang onto him for the remainder of the season in hopes of luring Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum to Atlanta this summer.

All of the trade rumors will end up being for naught, as Smith concludes this season in a Hawks uniform.

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