The Detroit Pistons brought in a new coach and new players to try and build a more cohesive and successful team. So far it hasn’t exactly worked out. There appears to be a rift building between head coach Maurice Cheeks and the highest paid player on the team, Josh Smith. Cheeks benched Smith last month for missing a practice after Smith was in Atlanta to care for his sick father. Smith let that slide but when Cheeks benched him for the entire second half against the Washington Wizards, he decided it was time to speak out.
“It’s an honor for me to play, you know what I’m saying? So when anybody challenges — or anything about the fact that, you know, about me not wanting to play — then I take real offense to it,” Smith said.
The whole starting five was playing pretty badly but Cheeks chose to only keep Smith on the bench.
Smith seems to be over the situation but shows uncertainty towards how Cheeks may feel or react in the future.
“I’m an aggressive person. I’m not passive. So maybe a passive person that takes life that way won’t understand an aggressive person. I really can’t worry about what people perceive of me because they don’t know me on a day-to-day basis so I’m really not concerned about what people perceive about me at all.”
“To me it is over with. But you know some people hold grudges longer than others. I don’t know. I’m not saying he does. I’m not the type of person that really likes to go all the time in coach’s office and have a one-on-one sitdown. I’m more of a team morale guy.”
