Twelve-year veteran Josh Smith will be joining the new orleans Pelicans after agreeing to a deal with the team on Wednesday. He is signing with them under the injury hardship exception. The Pelicans also signed veteran point guard Jameer Nelson on Sunday.
The Pelicans have become a depleted team thanks to injuries keeping players such as Rajon Rondo, Frank Jackson, Solomon Hill, Alexis Ajinca, and Omer Asik on the sidelines. Star big man Anthony Davis also left Tuesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers with a knee injury and is listed as day-to-day.
J-Smoove’s up and down tenure with the Hawks
The 31-year-old Smith was selected 17th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2004 NBA Draft. He spent his first nine seasons with Atlanta and while it was clear how talented and multi-dimensional he was, fans still were maddeningly frustrated with what was sometimes poor shot selection by the forward.
During those nine seasons with the Hawks, Smith posted per game averages of 15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.1 blocks. He was named to the All-Defensive Second Team for the 2009-10 season and was the Slam Dunk Contest champion in 2005.
Clearly not much of a threat from downtown, Smith still would attempt long-range shots which would draw moans and sometimes boos from the fans.
He shot just 28.3% on threes as a Hawks player.
Pistons decided they would rather pay Smith to leave than stay
In July of 2013, Smith signed a large four-year/$54 million contract to become a member of the Detroit Pistons. Less than a year and a half later, he was waived. In the 105 games Smith appeared in a Pistons uniform, he shot 41.3% from the field, 26.2% on three-pointers, and 51.5% from the free throw line.
He attempted nearly three three-pointers a game despite shooting atrociously from deep.
In December of 2014, the Pistons used the stretch provision to rid themselves of Smith. That allowed them to pay him $27 million over the next five years rather than $27 million in the two years remaining on his contract.
Post-Pistons playing days
Smith had a bit of a resurgence, joining the Houston Rockets a few days after being waived by Detroit. He averaged 12.0 points per game for Houston in the 2014-15 season while shooting 43.8% from the field and a somewhat respectable 33.0% on threes.
Smith last appeared in the NBA in the 2015-16 season. He signed with the Los Angeles Clippers where he struggled some more. He was traded back to the Rockets in January of 2016, but he didn’t have the same success he had the season prior for them. He played 55 games between the two teams and shot a miserable 36.4% from the field, 28.7% from three-point territory, and 55.2% from the charity stripe.
Smith spent last season playing for the Sichuan Blue Whales in China.