Citing that he could be fined for discussing his trade request with the media, Josh Smith sidestepped questions about his future with the Atlanta Hawks offering up only that he has one year remaining on his contract.
"I'm under contract for one more year with the Hawks"
The first question to likely be answered this offseason will be who will be calling the shots for the club in the near future. General manager Rick Sund's contract expires on June 30 and whoever assumes the position on that date will no doubt have Smith's situation at the top of his to do list.
Smith reportedly requested a trade sometime last season and then reiterated his demand around the trade deadline. The Hawks must decide whether or not they can afford to re-sign Smith or whether he would be willing to ink a new deal with the club. If not then Atlanta would likely look to trade him in an effort to get something in return for him before he simply walked away for nothing.
However, Smith's contract is affordable and it is debatable that any trade will return equal value for a player with Smith's talents. Atlanta could put off any such decision until the trade deadline or roll the dice with Smith the next offseason.
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