Josh Smith Was Reportedly Kicked Out of Practice Prior to Suspension

The Atlanta Hawks announced today that Josh Smith was suspended for tonight’s game. It turns out, according to a report in the AJC, that Smith had an incident at practice, for which he was asked to leave: “According to a person familiar with the situation, Smith was thrown out of practice Tuesday. The Hawks held a lengthy practice one day after losing in franchise-worst fashion in Chicago Monday. Following Wednesday’s shootaround, coach Larry Drew would not confirm he dismissed Smith from practice. However there clearly was an issue during the workout. ‘I will just say that there was an incident in practice,’ Drew said. ‘At that particular point, something had to be done. I met with (general manager) Danny (Ferry) afterward, and the rest of the staff, we actually slept on in. We all came back in agreement that we had to take the measure that we did. That we would do it, that would be our stand. After tonight’s game, again, we will embrace Josh once again. These type things do happen. The team has not been playing very well. We’ve been losing. I understand frustrations. He’s been frustrated. I’ve been frustrated. Other guys in the locker room have been frustrated. The unfortunate thing about this business is those type things do happen. Once they do happen, it’s a matter of handling it and moving on.’ […] ‘Clearly I am competitive and was frustrated by our recent losses,’ Smith said in a statement released by the team. ‘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 tonight’s game.'”