and Jim Jackson, another talent who had not quite reached his potential. The trade didn't sit well with Hawks fans, since Smith had been one of the most popular players on the team. Coach Lenny Wilkens didn't want the trade either, but tried to fit Rider into the system. Rider played well enough on the court, pacing the Hawks in scoring. However, his off-court incidents exploded in Atlanta. After reports that he had smoked marijuana in an Orlando hotel room, the league demanded that he attend drug counseling. He refused and was fined a total of $200,000 until he agreed to attend. He was suspended numerous times by the Hawks as well, and fined a total of $200,000 by the team. Even after Wilkens benched him in March with the Hawks long out of contention, Rider still continued to be tardy for games and practices, prompting the Hawks to threaten a three-game suspension for another incident. He showed up late for a March game in Detroit, and rather than serve a three-game suspension, he demanded his outright release. The Hawks complied. Los Angeles Lakers (2000–2001) Rider played in 67 games with the Lakers during the 2000–01 season, leading their bench in scoring with a 7.6 average. He was suspended for five games in March 2001 for failing to comply with the NBA's anti-drug policy. Though left off the playoff roster in favor of Tyronn Lue, Rider was awarded a championship ring by the franchise. After the season, Rider stated that he wanted to return to the Lakers. Denver Nuggets (2001) Prior to the 2001–02 season, the Denver Nuggets signed Rider to help resuscitate their moribund offense, but Rider's stint in Denver was limited to just 10 games before he was waived on November 20, 2001. Rider refused to term it "retirement" at the time, however, insisting that he could still play if given the chance. In 563 NBA games, (424 starts), Rider averaged 16.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 31:42 of floor time per game. Rider totaled 9,405 points in his 9-year NBA career. Career statistics NBA Regular season |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 79 || 60 || 30.6 || .468 || .360 || .811 || 4.0 || 2.6 || .7 || .4 || 16.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 75 || 67 || 35.3 || .447 || .351 || .817 || 3.3 || 3.3 || .9