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According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Detroit Pistons and Josh Smith have come to an agreement on a four year, 56 million dollar deal (14 million per year). Smith will join a loaded frontcourt of Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe in Detroit that immediately becomes one of the top defensive frontcourts in the NBA.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Y! Sources: Free agent forward Josh Smith agrees to a four year, $56 million with the Detroit Pistons. <a href="http://t.co/Ro6zbwhulS">http://t.co/Ro6zbwhulS</a></p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/353591401151332353">July 6, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Smith agreeing to this deal means that the Atlanta Hawks will not be able to use him in a sign-and-trade deal as many had hoped and expected. It will, however, clear Smith's cap hold on the Hawks (as detailed by Jason Walker on Friday) and free up space for the Hawks to continue adding new pieces.
This appears to be the anti-climactic end to the Josh Smith-era in Hawks history, one that saw the franchise emerge as a consistent playoff team. Smith was always a polarizing figure in Atlanta, and is sure to be one in Detroit as well, but his impact on the franchise is undeniable. Smith's departure was expected this offseason, but even so, it is going to be strange to watch Hawks introductions without Josh Smith coming out last as Ryan Cameron says "Atlanta's own Josh, J-Smoooooove, Smith."