Josh Smith was willing to continue his NBA career wherever he had to, either in his hometown of Atlanta with the Hawks or in Memphis with the Grizzlies.
The Hawks made the decision for him late Friday night by matching the five-year, $58 million offer the Grizzlies made to Smith, a restricted free agent, earlier in the day.
“Tonight, the Hawks organization received an offer sheet from the Memphis Grizzlies for Josh Smith,” Hawks general manager Rick Sund said in a statement released by the team. “We are happy to announce that we will match their offer sheet. Ownership, management and the team are happy to have Josh return as a member of the Hawks. We look forward to training camp in October, and we will continue to look at additional opportunities to improve our roster.”