All of Danny Ferry's moves seem to be having an effect on at least one member of the Atlanta Hawks. Power forward Josh Smith indicated in an interview with SI.com's Sam Amick that he no longer wants to be traded from the team that he has played his entire career for.
Asked if he still wants to be traded, Smith promptly responded, "No."
Smith never made his trade demands public but they eventually leaked out as did his unhappiness over a perceived lack of commitment to winning from ownership. Now Ferry is clearing the deck and Smith could be the biggest x-factor in the chase for Dwight Howard.
"You never know" about getting Howard, Smith said. "I mean, everybody has a possibility of getting him. To have a guy of that caliber would definitely be awesome. But he has so much going on right now that I don't want to clutter his head with any more of it. I know that he's going through a lot right now with that decision, and it's a long process for him. I don't really bother him about it. I just call him sometimes to check up on him and see what he's doing."
Smith is one of Howard's closest friends and the two stay in touch often. Howard hasn't shown any interest in the Hawks thus far but if Ferry has been able to change Josh Smith's mind maybe he can Howard's as well.
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