Josh Smith wants back in the NBA
The NBA preseason is used in different ways for different players. For the a majority of the league’s players, it serves as a tune up, a way to get back into a routine and develop chemistry with new teammates and coaches. For some, it’s an opportunity to get in shape after a summer of late nights and…..less than optimal conditioning practices. Others will use it to get in that last bit of rehab for the injury that nagged them through last year, so that they’re ready to go.
For some, though, it’s less about getting ready, and more about performing here and now. For some players it’s a job interview, as a good performance can land you a permanent spot for the regular season. Most of the time these guys are G-Leaguers, undrafted rookies, or players trying to find their way over from Europe or China. But occasionally, you get a blast from the past, as a former household NBA name tries to work their way back into the league. This year, we get maybe the most exciting example of that category: Josh Smith.
Smith will be playing a few games in the NBA preseason, joining up with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli League as they tour the U.S., playing in Utah, Indiana, and Portland. The 31-year old joins former Cleveland Cavalier Samardo Samuels and former Miami Hurricanes guard Angel Rodriguez on Haifa, and will be hoping to secure a place in the NBA after spending 2016-2017 in China with the Sichuan Blue Whales. Unable to find a contract outright, he’s hoping a strong performance here will coax a team into giving him a better look down the road.
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“Smoove” last played in the NBA in 2015-16, spending a short stint with the Los Angeles Clippers before signing with the Houston Rockets. He was mostly an afterthought, averaging 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in 55 contests, shooting an abysmal 34.3 percent from the field in the process. That appeared to be the end of a fascinating career for the former Atlanta Hawks’ phenom. Smith won a dunk contest in 2005, and showed outstanding athleticism that, paired with flashes of high-level passing and rim protection skills, meant that he had potential to be a franchise-changer. But outside of an All-Defensive team bid in 2010, his career never blossomed like many hoped it would.
Smoove was done in by a subpar handle and outside shooting stroke, meaning that he never could quite harness the full extent of his capabilities. His back-breaking decisions to continue to isolate and jack up deep balls despite this compounded matters, and Atlanta fans were pretty conflicted when he left the team in 2013. Of course, his talents were enough to allow him to leave Atlanta, as Joe Dumars lavished Smith with a 4=four-year, $56-million deal that seemed bad at the time and quickly was made worse by the fact that Smith, Greg Monroe, and Andre Drummond could absolutely not play together in any functional capacity.
The deal was so bad that it was likely part of what cost Dumars his job, and his successor, Stan Van Gundy, decided to just eat the final two years of Smith’s contract, taking the insane move of buying Smith out in December 2014, opting to pay Smith $25 million not to play basketball for them. He’s set to earn $5.3 million from the team this year. This is 100 percent true and 100 percent amazing. He then signed with Houston Rockets, and had perhaps the most integral role in helping the Clippers blow a 3-1 lead before it was cool to do so. That timeline of events is definitely up there in terms of the wildest NBA rides.
Now, still only 31, Smith is trying to find one last NBA deal. He may not be the athlete he once was, but he’s still a capable passer and can have stretches of useful defense, two things that many teams could use off the bench at the four. Smith was done in by his abysmal shooting two years ago, and he shot just 41.6 percent from the field in China, which is not a good omen, as that’s a notoriously friendly shooting environment for former NBA players. But, one solid stretch could be enough to get him a deal. The idea of Josh Smith might be phasing out of serviceability, but all it takes is for one team to fall in love with his supposed versatility to get him back in our lives again.
Of course, that all runs counter to the fundamental tenants of Smoovism. Of course Smith would be a fit if all he did was pass, defend, and take smart shots — he’d still be in the league if that was all you got with him. How much of a leash does he need to be given at this point? Does he actually know he’s 2018 Josh Smith, and what that means?
He certainly picked an interesting team to show off with, as well. Concerned about his shooting, especially in terms of shot selection? Well, enter a team with only two former NBA players from a league that has a rap of promoting one-on-one basketball, and, good or bad, we’ll be getting our answer quickly on whether Smoove is going to hit the shots he should be taking, or miss the shots he shouldn’t be. He’ll likely be taking plenty of both.
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Smoove unceremoniously left the NBA one year ago, a surprise considering how bombastic his career has been, in both good and bad directions. In a way, this is the most apt way for it to continue. Having a three-game audition for a mid-tier Israeli League team, in the high-profile locales of Utah, Indiana, and Portland, no less, sounds about right for one of the league’s weirdest stories. The only thing that makes this spectacle more interesting is the idea that it actually could work. Either way, for one week in October, Smoove is back in our lives. And that is a glorious thing.