Maurice Cheeks Says He and Josh Smith are Fine After Benching

Detroit Pistons head coach Maurice Cheeks tried to downplay the growing gap between himself and unhappy forward Josh Smith. Cheeks claims that this is a bigger problem in the media than it is inside the Pistons’ locker room. Per the Detroit Free Press:

Detroit Pistons forward Josh Smith said his second-half benching Saturday night in a blowout loss at the Washington Wizards was “unfair.”

Coach Maurice Cheeks said (Sunday) that Smith is “entitled to his opinion.”

But it appears the two men will agree to disagree and move on. “Y’all the only one who got a problem with it,” Cheeks said. “Me and Josh are fine. Josh and I are fine.”

“I mean it’s unfair because as I told you before I play this game hard each and every day,” Smith said after the Wizards loss. “When I younger I would play this game for free year round. This is what I love to do so why wouldn’t I want to come out here and try to put my best foot forward every time I step out on the court?”

“That’s his opinion,” Cheeks said. “I watch a lot of judge shows. They always talk about people’s opinions. That’s OK, that’s his opinion. I can’t be in his brain and he’s certainly entitled to his opinion and I’m entitled to mine.”

When asked if he understood why Smith would think the move was unfair, Cheeks said no.