Josh Smith Cover-Up Over

With Josh Smith's recent two game suspension by the Hawks after cussing out his coaches during a game, other little tidbits about his behavior around the team have also sprouted up. Little things like going to bars in the Atlanta area before he was 21 and demanding to be served, followed by threatening to get his "peeps" and his "gat" to sort things out. Could have been a Pacman-type scene if it weren't for the intervention of a little Stanford common sense in Josh Childress. At one point during the season Josh also said something so ridiculous to Zaza Pachulia that Zaza pinned him against the locker room wall and said

"Talk to me like you just did on the court and you'll miss the rest of your
career."

Coming from a 6-11, 250lb Russian that can probably drink two gallons of Vodka while he calmly walks 300 miles to a store for bread, that cannot be considered a threat, only a promise. I'm baffled by the ability of the Hawks to keep this kind of stuff quiet in this era of anonymous tips and blogging. Is it just a case of no one paying attention to a losing team or were the Hawks covering up for a player talented enough to be the face of the franchise for the next decade? I'm betting on the latter. Of course he won't be around a week unless he remembers to keep quiet around large Russian men.