In an in-depth interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta Hawks GM Rick Sund talked about how he viewed the team's season, where they stand in the Eastern Conference hierarchy and how they can improve going forward.
Sund deftly maneuvered around many of the tougher questions, but perhaps his most interesting comments came from what he didn't say about Josh Smith, the talented but enigmatic forward who has only one more year left on his contract:
MC: Will you try to sign Josh Smith to an extension?
Sund: I'm not going to get into contract stuff.
MC: Is it your perception Josh is still happy being here with the Hawks?
Sund: I'm going to have his exit interview sometime this week. But, yeah, when you read the things of him saying . . . He's such a competitor. I was talking to his dad the other day, and he mentioned we all think we should be playing, and that's great. And [Josh] is one of them.
Sund mentioned that the team's goal was to get themselves to the Conference Finals, which he called the NBA's "Final Four", but without much salary cap space, dealing Smith may be the only way to shake the Hawks core up.
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