NBA Trade Rumors: Hawks Must Keep Josh Smith If They Want to Contend in East

Josh Smith would welcome a trade from the Atlanta Hawks, according to Yahoo Sports, and the team would be incredibly foolish to part with one of the most athletic players in the NBA.

Here is some of Adrian Wojnarowski's Yahoo report:

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Without an owner committed to making the changes to push this team past its second-round Eastern Conference ceiling, sources said he’d still welcome the team putting him into a trade.

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With Jamal Crawford possibly leaving the Hawks as an unrestricted free agent, Atlanta must hold onto players like Smith who are so important to the team's success.

Smith was arguably the Hawks most valuable player last season. He was second on the team in points per game, first in blocks per game, first in steals per game and second in rebounds per game.

He is a major part of the nightly success. Not only is Smith one of the better young players in the game, he is a very versatile.

He has a great combination of size and strength, and can defend the small forward and power forward positions.

Smith is also one of the most explosive talents in the game. Almost every game he does something that makes you say "WOW!" 

His amazing dunks and big-time blocked shots raise the energy of his teammates and the crowd.

I understand it is very frustrating that the Hawks cannot seem to get past the second round of the playoffs, but Smith cannot give up on the Hawks.

They are a good young team that will be competitive for many more seasons. With a few more pieces, specifically a real center, Atlanta will be a top team in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks cannot blow up their current roster and rebuild, they have too much promise for that. Smith is a star who can become an even better player over the next few seasons. The Hawks would be foolish to trade him and severely weaken their team.