Why LA Clippers alum Josh Smith can’t find a new NBA team
By Tom West
LA Clippers alum Josh Smith still can’t find a new NBA team after a rather sudden fall from grace, but why is that the case?
Three seasons ago, Josh Smith was averaging 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game with the Atlanta Hawks. Heading into next season, he doesn’t even have a team. His time with the LA Clippers ended in disappointment after his failed time as a backup small-ball center came concluded, resulting in him being traded back to the Houston Rockets.
What a downfall it’s been from those Atlanta Hawks days. As a truly explosive, talented, versatile player, capable of attacking the rim and defending it better than most, Smith delivered the kind of all around numbers and impact that few players could in his prime.
By his third season in the league he was averaging 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game at just 21 years old.
With the Clippers at 30 years old, his reputation for taking far too many threes had well and truly set in after his departure from Detroit. He failed to redeem himself in L.A., shooting 38.3 percent (31 percent from three with 4.5 attempts per 36 minutes) with averages of 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in his 14.3 nightly minutes. He couldn’t protect the paint like Cole Aldrich eventually did and he couldn’t operate as an intelligent player on offense, straying away from his strengths as he has in recent years.
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That’s continued, and it’s keeping him off a roster. But, nevertheless, it’s hard to believe that a player so soon removed from such impact is currently coasting through the summer with as many NBA appearances scheduled in his diary as me.
So, as October 27 slowly approaches for us impatient spectators, why is it that interest in Smith is so low that finding no team before that date is still a possibility?
The three-point issue is one flaw that teams will have on their radar. While Smith’s 28.8 three-point percentage over the last three seasons is ugly enough, it’s even worse given the rate he’s attempted them in this time (3.9 per 36 minutes). In an age when fours and fives stretch the floor like Smith tries to, they need to be able to do so from three-point range.
If that wavering efficiency doesn’t change, Smith isn’t enough of a defensive force in the paint, in the post or on the boards against bigger opposition to operate at center. As a four, he doesn’t have the kind of track record over the last few years to suggest that he can operate effectively off the ball, take intelligent shots, or be an easy fit in most offenses.
After all, there has to be a reason it’s so hard to find any reported interest in Smith.
Just take his time with the LA Clippers, for example. During his 32 games with the team, the Clippers’ offensive rating dropped by an absurd 19.6 points per 100 possessions (110.5 to 90.9) with Smith on the floor.
When taking a bigger sample size such as his last season with the Detroit Pistons in 2014-15, their offensive rating also fell dramatically, dropping by 10.4 (107.7 to 97.3) with Smith in the game.
If he plays to his strengths (which admittedly should be more), Smith can be an impactful player with his combination of passing, ball handling, on-ball defense, help rejections, and athletic finishing. The problem to undo all of that is that Smith doesn’t play to those strengths far too often.
It’s almost hard to believe that we’re here right now, because Smith’s versatile production up until the last couple of seasons has been exceptional.
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In the history of the NBA, only seven players have finished with at least 12,900 points, 6,600 rebounds, 2,700 assists and 1,700 blocks over the course of their career (per Basketball Reference). One of those players is Josh Smith. The others?
You can’t get a list of big men much better than that. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer in Kareem? The best power forward of all time in Duncan? The most dominant physical force we’ve seen in Shaq? No, Smith doesn’t compare to such legends. But it still says a lot about his rare performance.
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In fact, no other player has ever recorded those numbers by the age of 30 (Kareem started before blocks were registered and Smith started straight out of high school to give him an edge, but it’s still highly impressive nonetheless).
When your current play style and shooting ranges aren’t ideal for today’s NBA, though, and questions of mentality and personality arise, they can take priority over past success.
Of course, there’s still time for Smith to find a roster spot somewhere. On some team willing to look past the issues and sign his athleticism, passing ability or talent that still exists, there may be room for him.
But the questions over his style of play and fit can’t be ignored. What is the role for a playmaker that doesn’t make great decisions and can’t pose much threat from three?
As the days go by, his value is driven down all the time. Even after the drastic rise in the NBA salary cap to $94 million this summer, it’s virtually impossible to see that Smith will find any more than the minimum salary, especially after receiving a minimum deal when he signed with the LA Clippers last year.
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Wherever Smith does end up, he’ll pursue redemption. Maybe he’ll play within his strengths, deliver enough defense, and hit the occasional catch-and-shoot threes to get by. But whatever happens next for him, it’s safe to say that he’ll never come close to replicating his former self.