Reports cannot confirm that the Atlanta Hawks are looking to trade their stat sheet stuffer Josh Smith but its evident Smith is rather frustrated with his team.

After a great start to the season, sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a 20-10 record through 30 games, Josh Smith has fed into the recent downward spiral the Hawks have plummeted into.

During practice on Tuesday Head coach Larry Drew reportedly tossed Smith from practice. He was later fined and suspended from Wednesday nights contest against the Brooklyn Nets for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

Smith texted a statement to Jeff Zillgitt of the USA Today who tweet it out:

“Clearly I am competitive and was frustrated by our recent losses. 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 missing Nets game.”

The Hawks mediocre roster and Smith’s contract terminating at the end of the year would hold many to believe that the big man is indeed on the market as there are plenty of teams in buy mode as the trade deadline approaches.

The suspension led Smith’s agent to fly out on Wednesday to discuss with the Hawks about his client. There has been a buzz before that Smith wanted out of Atlanta, but his agent said he didn’t demand a trade.

It would be in Atlanta’s best interest to shop the forward as they look to retool the team, most likely building around the All-Star caliber big man Al Horford

Any team trading for him certainly would want to re-sign him this summer and might be hesitant to make a deal if they didn’t have some assurance they could keep him.

Joseph Turuseta | Elite.