Josh Smith was prepared to be traded from the Hawks when the 2011 Playoffs ended, as the up and downs of his tenure with the Hawks began to wear on him.

“When you’ve been in one place for a while, it crosses you mind: Maybe I want to get lost. Punch the GPS a few times.

“I’ve been here a long time. I’ve never lashed out at the organization. All I ask for sometimes is, when I raise my hand, maybe somebody can help me up, so I’m not always the person who’s trying to [defend me from criticism]. It would be nice if somebody else said, ‘This guy’s a pretty good player.’”

During the offseason, Smith changed his workout routine and his diet while losing 25 pounds. He now weights 225, which is his lightest since coming to the NBA straight out of high school.

After only a few days of drills, coach Larry Drew said, “He’s getting off his feet a lot quicker, getting to the rim and exploding, even more than he has in the past.

“I’m seeing and hearing a passion I haven’t seen before.”

“I’ve been in the league a while," said Smith. "My main concern now is winning. I want to win, no matter what the cost is. I want to be one of the elite teams in this league. My window isn’t closing, but it’s slowly going down. Before I get out of here, I want to accomplish some things.”