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The Atlanta Hawks had a decision to make at the NBA trade deadline on Thursday. Atlanta had to decide if they wanted to trade away Josh Smith or not. The team decided not to trade Smith and I really think that was the best idea in the long run. Smith is a consistent scorer and with the team in the playoff hunt, there was really no reason to pull the trigger on this trade.

I know a lot of people would want to make this trade to help Atlanta in the long run but how does anyone know what is going to happen one or two years from now? Smith could turn into the player that leads Atlanta towards a championship. Can that happen? Yes but will it happen though? Smith is 27 years old now and in his ninth year for Atlanta. The team has made moves before to take away pieces that could help the Hawks win a title but Smith is still there.

Atlanta would be wise to go get help for Smith instead of trading him away at any point. It was a great move for this season in not making a bad deal in trading Smith somewhere else. This is a Hawks team that is going to need to depend on Smith and Al Horford for many years to come if they ever want to be successful. In this case, Atlanta made the right move in not trading one of their superstars away. It will only be a matter of time before the full extent of the non-trade takes effect.

Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.