Charles Barkley says the Pistons 'have a bunch of idiots' on the team

While watching Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond participate in the NBA Rising Stars challenge, a game in which Drummond won MVP honors, TNT's Charles Barkley took time to rip his Pistons teammates.

Barkley said the Pistons 'had a bunch of idiots on that team' when he spoke about the Pistons.

“He’s a terrific player who’s playing with those other idiots up in Detroit. And they’re not going to win,” Barkley said.

When the rest of the “NBA on TNT” panel, including Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith, questioned that statement, Barkley continued: “They’ve got some idiots on that team. They’ve got some talented players who are not going to ever get it.”

In my opinion that was a shot to Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith. While the duo is talented they still possess the knucklehead factor and aren't winning players. The team lacks cohesion which is displayed when the team has many of it's 4th quarter collapses.

Barkley's talking about the lack of team play,"buddy ball in the back court", and no leadership on and off court. He's right this team doesn't understand good shots and mental toughness. Making the playoffs would help teach about possessions and finishing games.

Georgetown's Josh Smith out for the season for academic reasons

Georgetown's Josh Smith might go down as one of college basketball's most puzzling players.

Smith was a talented high school player and a McDonald's All American and that netted him a scholarship to UCLA. Unfortunately for UCLA, Smith took the McDonald's billing literally and ballooned to 300+ pounds and never got into playing shape. When he was on the court he flashed the skills that made him one of the top high school players in the nation, but due to his weight issues and inability to mesh with then UCLA head coach Ben Howland, Smith often found himself on the bench.

Smith played six games for UCLA in 2012-2013 and decided to transfer to Georgetown. Hoyas coach John Thompson III was willing to grant Smith a second chance and surprisingly Smith was given immediate eligibility by the NCAA.

Smith paid immediate dividends as he reached double-digit points in seven of his first nine games. Water finally net its level regarding Smith's production as he averaged less than six in his final four games. His final game was on January 4 against St. John's as he scored six points and grabbed five rebounds.

That was his final appearance because Georgetown has ruled Smith academically ineligible for the remainder of the season.

This is a big blow to the Hoyas as a season that started as a Big East contender is now on the brink. The team released forward Greg Whittington, and starting guard Jabril Trawick is out with a broken jaw.

Coach Thompson released a statement regarding Smith's status with the team.

"It's disappointing," Thompson said. "So much was geared toward [Josh's] presence. "Now here in the middle of the season, between [Smith] and Jabril, you lose two starters," Thompson said outside the team's practice court inside McDonough Arena. "You have to reshuffle everything. But this is Georgetown. We have a set of standards here. Everyone has a responsibility above and beyond what goes on those doors right there. He let his teammates down, but the rest of the group will try to regroup here and figure it out."

Hopefully Smith sticks around and figures it out. He has a ton of talent but it has gone untapped in a big way. But knowing Smith from the outside looking in, I don't see him staying at Georgetown to fix his academic problems.

I could be wrong in this assessment on his future. I see him as a future D-League player or trying to go to Europe. Cliff notes version, he's gonna be a basketball vagabond.

Is the Josh Smith-Maurice Cheeks relationship on thin ice?

The Detroit Pistons caught a 106-82 beatdown at the hands of the Washington Wizards last night. The team as a whole didn't play well. As a result coach Maurice Cheeks benched rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and big money acquisition Josh Smith.

While the benching of Caldwell-Pope may have gone unnoticed, the benching of Smith made a lot of noise. This was the second time this season that Cheeks has sent Smith to the sidelines for a perceived lack of effort.

Cheeks benched three of the starting five after halftime of last night's game. Cheeks admitted that he would've benched the entire stating five.

He admitted he would have liked to bench the entire starting five to begin the second half.”If I could have, yeah,” Cheeks said, when asked that question.  “The way the first half went, yeah.  But the way the first half went, I really couldn't.”

“I just felt I wanted to make a change and stay with the guys I went with,” Cheeks said. “It wasn’t just those two, they had bigs on the floor, so I had to stay with Greg (Monroe) and Andre (Drummond).”


Caldwell-Pope took the benching in stride, but was that a ploy to make it look like Cheeks wasn't singling Smith out? No one knows except the players and coaches in the locker room, but Smith didn't like the fact he was sent to the bench once again.

“I live to play this basketball game,” Smith said in the Verizon Center visitor’s locker room. “It’s an honor for me to play it. When anybody challenges or anything about the fact about me not wanting to play I take real offense to it.

“Whatever decision that somebody makes beyond my control I can’t control it. It’s a question you have to ask somebody that has that power.”  

“I mean it’s unfair because as I told you before I play this game hard each and every day,” Smith said. “When I younger I would play this game for free year round. This is what I love to do so why wouldn’t I want to come out here and try to put my best foot forward every time I step out on the court.”

Cheeks won't admit to saying that he wasn't pleased with Smith's performance but that's what it looked like if you ask me. Smith scored four points, shooting 2-7 from the field and grabbed four rebounds. Not what you want out of a player you signed to a $54 million contract.

Cheeks is right, this game wasn't about Josh Smith. This was a total team effort. But the rift between Smith and Cheeks bears watching. If Smith is in one of his floating, "I don't give a damn" moods like we've seen when he played in Atlanta, this could sink a season in which the Pistons can gain a little ground in a hobbled Eastern Conference.

This isn't a consistent team and if Cheeks is looking for consistency maybe he should stick with his big guns a little longer. If they can't get the job done it's his job to find the right combination. He shouldn't try to make an example out of one or two players. Caldwell-Pope maybe, Smith I'm about 50/50 because I've seen his act in Atlanta.

Smith says he doesn't hold grudges but we'll have to see how he comes out and plays in Monday's rematch against the Wizards.

“I don’t know. To me it’s over with, but some people hold grudges longer than others. I’m not saying he does,” Smith said. “I’m not the type of person that really likes to go into the coach’s office and have sit-downs. I’m more of a team-morale guy, what we can do as far as teammates are concerned to make ourselves better.”

If Smith decides to be a bigger man then he'll come out and have a performance like the one he had against the Indiana Pacers. If not then the season could be on the verge of blowing up.

Pistons' Josh Smith says he isn't upset about benching during loss to Golden State

Detroit Pistons forward Josh Smith says he was not upset at his noticeable lack of playing time in Tuesday's loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Smith, who signed a $54 million deal to join the Pistons in the offseason, scored just two points in a season-low 19 minutes Tuesday. But Smith insisted he did not take the benching personally.

Josh Smith played a season-low 19 minutes in the Pistons' 113-95 loss Tuesday at Golden State.

"I just got to cheer my teammates on," Smith told reporters, according to the Detroit Free Press. "You can't really focus on the decisions that people make higher than you. You just have to be able to adjust around it.

"As long as I've been in this league, that's what I've been willing to do."

Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said he was disappointed in the team's effort against the Warriors, who raced out to a 35-16 lead after the first quarter and led by as many as 29 points.

Smith was subbed out with 1:39 remaining in the first quarter and did not return until midway through the third quarter. But Cheeks said he was not trying to deliver a message to the high-priced forward.

"It's about trying to change some things up," Cheeks said, according to the Free Press. "It wasn't about sending a message; just trying to change some things up to see if we could get some things going."

When asked whether his lack of playing time was meant to send a message, Smith told the website mlive.com, "You never know."

"You can't really let it affect your thought process," Smith told the website. "You just have to roll with the punches.

"I'm not a selfish player, so I'm not going to go in there and demand plays be ran for me. I just kind of look around and see what in the game is being forced my way, or given my way, and just work my way around it."

Despite his low output Tuesday, Smith has averaged 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for the Pistons (2-5), who are mired in a four-game losing streak.

"I think I can be effective offensively but, you know, it might be somebody else's night," he told the website. "You never know what it is. Like I said, I can't focus on things that I can't control."

Pistons sign Josh Smith to a four year deal

The Detroit Pistons have landed their first free agent of the offseason as Josh Smith has agreed to a four-year deal that will pay him $56 million, a source has confirmed to ESPN.com.

Smith was one of the first players the Pistons targeted when they were able to begin speaking with free agents this week.

The 6-foot-9 Smith will join Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond in Detroit's front court and is expected to add a little bit of everything to the Pistons' lineup while providing some much-needed scoring punch.

In nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Smith averaged 15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 blocks.  He's a career 46-percent shooter.

Last season, Smith averaged 17.5 points 8.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 blocks.

Smith, 27, was the 17th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. He was a second-team selection to the 2004-05 NBA All-Rookie team and made the All-Defensive second team in 2009-10.

Smith explored other options but there didn't seem to be too much of a market for him.

I have my reservations about the signing since Smith has a tendency to want to take too many jumpers, but I'll let it play out before saying it won't work out

Teams can't sign free agents until July 10.

Pacers' Jeff Pendergraph first player fined in the playoffs for flopping

Jeff Pendergraph of the Indiana Pacers has been the first player to be fined under the NBA's anti- flopping rules. The league fined Pendergraph $5,000.

Pendergraph was fined for his Game 5 flop while defending the Atlanta Hawks' Josh Smith. In the regular season players get a warning for flopping. In the playoffs there is no warning given. Players automatically receive a $5,000 fine and the amount goes up for each offense.

Odds are Pendergraph won't be trying that again.

Josh Smith wants out of Atlanta

The Atlanta Hawks have watched Josh Smith grow from a teenage headache to a reliable player. Smith is having his best season as a pro and should've been recognized as an All-Star this season. Despite all the good the team has done this year, with injuries to Al Horford and Joe Johnson, Smith wants out of Atlanta. If not by the March 15 trade deadline then he could possibly walk in free agency.

That puts the Hawks in the unenviable position of trying to find themselves the best deal or just outright losing Smith for nothing. The reasons Smith wants to be traded are that he thinks he needs a fresh start elsewhere and believes the Hawks aren't committed to winning a championship. I would have to agree with Smith on the latter opinion. Smith also has said that he could reach his potential on and off the court by playing for another team.

Let me translate that last sentence. I want to play for a winning franchise and get some of the endorsement money being handed out.

Smith has been the subject of trade rumors before and he brushes all of it aside when asked about it.

“I really don’t pay any attention to it,” he said. “I just go out there and play the way I play and not worry about anything else. I know this is a business. Whatever happens, happens in the long run. But I know as long as I’m with the Hawks, I have to put my best foot forward.”  


If Smith is unhappy, he's not showing it and is giving his best effort which should help him on the open market if he doesn't sign an extension.

Teammate Jerry Stackhouse believes it would be a mistake if the Hawks trade Smith.


“His talent, that’s what you can’t give up on with Josh,” Stackhouse said. “It’s easy to say, ‘All right, let’s just move him.’ And then he goes and clicks at the next stop and you’ve got to look at that every night and you had it in house. That’s kind of the dilemma with Josh. You know you are going to get some uneasy moments from time to time but, for the most part, he’s really about winning. He wants to win. He’s competitive. I relate to that.


“How he handles his emotions and frustrations, sometimes he rubs people the wrong way and bruises them. But I think he’s happy-go-lucky. He thinks, ‘It was just heat of the moment’ and we can move on from it but he can bruise people. I think he’s learning that. He is learning to control his emotions a little better and it’s good for our team. The better Josh Smith is, the better the Atlanta Hawks are.”


If Smith is traded it would hurt the Hawks in the short term. It all depends on who they get in return. If they can get a good haul for Smith they might be better off for it, but all in all this is a risk that I think Hawks management doesn't really want to take.