I thought Larry Drew was us giving typical coach-speak when he said he was going to shake things up. Clearly, I was wrong.
This morning the Atlanta Hawks announced that Josh Smith will be suspended for Wednesday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets for "conduct detrimental to the team." Many on the Hawks staff really believed the temperamental star had matured, so the suspension is even more disappointing.
Smith showed the prerequisite minimum level of contrition in his statement following the announcement.
“Clearly I am competitive and was frustrated by our recent losses. I understand and respect the team’s actions and just want to get back on the court to do whatever is necessary to help my teammates. I apologize for letting them down and apologize to our fans for not being available for the tonight's game.”
Josh, we get that you're passionate about winning but if you want to be the leader you want to be it's time to grow up. There couldn't be a worse possible time for this type of distraction. The Hawks are 3-7 in their last ten games, are coming off an embarrassing defeat to the Bulls on Wednesday and the surging Nets are coming to town with former Hawks Joe Johnson in tow.
These are the times in which teams look to their stars but they won't even see Smith tonight because he's not even allowed in the arena.
