Larry Drew isn’t the most popular coach in Atlanta. There's this belief that the Hawks hired him not because he was viewed as the next great thing but rather the next cheapest thing. The Atlanta Spirit didn’t even have to pay moving expenses.

For that reason, Drew seldom has been given much credit for his accomplishments, whether it was the playoff upset of Orlando, taking Chicago to six games two years ago, holding together the team last season despite a blur of injuries and going 40-26, or winning 10 of 15 games with this Munchkin roster in December (for which he earned NBA Coach of the Month honors).

Maybe this will get Drew some street cred.

Drew threw Josh Smith out of practice Tuesday, sources told the Journal-Constitution’s Chris Vivlamore. The Hawks announced only that Smith has been suspended for tonight’s game against Brooklyn because of “conduct detrimental to the team."

Drew confirmed to Vivlamore that there was “an incident in practice.”

Usually that means something like this:

-- Coach to player: “Why don’t you do what we tell you?”

-- Player to coach: “Why do I get blamed for everything?”

(Insert colorful adjectives.)

This exchange is sometimes followed by one or the other throwing something. A fit, a Gatorade bottle, a punch.

This much is certain: This is a test for Drew. How Smith and the team respond to this little brush fire will go a long way toward to determining the coach’s future and the team’s success this season. The Hawks, after a remarkable 20-10 start, have lost six of their last seven. They scored an embarrassingly low 58 points in Monday’s defeat at Chicago.

Drew and Smith have something in common: Both are working in the final year of their respective contracts. Hawks general manager Danny Ferry has said he wanted time to get to know Drew first before committing to an extension. He also has said he would like to keep Smith, but there is bound to be some trepidation before extending potentially a max contract offer to a player who has been such a lightning rod in this city.

For the record, I’m predisposed to liking Smith. Talent aside, he obviously has too many “Josh moments.” But he also tends to get more blame than he deserves.

Smith also is not the most thick-skinned guy in the world. He doesn’t take criticism well. The Hawks have hit the skids in part because they’re not moving and sharing the ball as they were earlier in the season. Everybody is to blame but Smith probably has been the biggest problem.

Drew told Vivlamore: “After tonight’s game, again, we will embrace Josh once again.”

This can go either way. But whatever the result, it probably can be traced back to this day.