NBA Trade Speculation: Would the Atlanta Hawks Be Better off Keeping Josh Smith?

For Hawks fans, new management is not the only change they are expecting during this extended offseason.

Josh Smith will be entering his eighth year in the NBA this upcoming season and the veteran power forward has been the talk of the Atlanta sports scene over the past two years. 

Should he stay or should he go?

You could honestly make a case for either, but the most logical scenario is that the Hawks front office brings back the troubled forward out of Oak Hill Academy.

Smith is coming off a season in which he had a career high three-point and free-throw percentage despite the numerous nights of boos filling Phillips Arena. Smith attacked the basket throughout the playoffs en route to 15 points per game and 40 percent from the field. 

The stats don’t lie.

Statistics also show that he had the worst three-point percentage of his career in the 2011 NBA playoffs, just over 12 percent.

Smith is a career 28 percent from behind the arc, including the 2009-10 season when he missed all seven attempts from three-point land. That is beyond “Rasheed Wallace territory,” used to describe the big man that never accepted his role on the offensive end over his 15-year career.

Wallace shot a miserable 33 percent from long range over his career.

Smith’s inability to provide stable offense for the team over his tenure in Atlanta has forced the Hawks and their fans to grow tired of his immaturity.

Potential suitors in a Josh Smith trade know what they are getting, though: a 25-year-old defensive powerhouse who refuses to accept his role as an interior body but, when he buys in to what the offense needs him to do, can be a dominant force on the boards.

Although Smith’s 2010-11 numbers jump off the page, Smith’s immaturity and loud personality has turned off trade partners from the athletic big man.

The Hawks know who they have as well, though: a 6’9”, 240-pound power forward who has great length and athleticism, making him one of the most exciting players in the league.

Throughout the veteran’s distinguished career, he has become one of the most notorious shot blockers in the league along with all-around skills that, if utilized, could make him one of the top players in the NBA.

The Hawks realize his potential and they also recognize that he was a member of their banged up unit that led them deeper into the playoffs than any Atlanta team in the last 10 seasons.

The Hawks finally beat the Orlando Magic and entered the second round of the 2011 NBA playoffs against the Chicago Bulls. Although he had an awful shooting performance from beyond the arc, Smith was third on the team in total scoring, just behind Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford. He provided eight boards a game and shot a solid 60 percent from the charity stripe.

The athletic big man also secured 25 blocks in 12 playoff games, only 15 less than the other 13 Hawks players combined for in that span.

Although the Hawks have grown tired of Smith’s on-court antics, it is hard to shy away from what he can produce when motivated.

Combine the Hawk’s reliance on a pick-your-center technique and the emergence of Jeff Teague as a potential everyday starter, Josh Smith could be the glue that brings this young Atlanta squad to an NBA Finals appearance sooner than you might think.

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