Josh Smith cut from the Pistons

[Kevin]

He wasn't banned. Philippines Coach was too much of a p***y to admit that he was the one who messed up. Blatche was great for them.

But didn't the PH team reach out to one of the Lopez brothers?

[JAWSFreelao]

I haven't found anything saying so, but I didn't give maximum effort It's late, lol. One thing I know for sure: Khloe Kardashian sure is reaching out to Robin Lopez.
But Blatche is awesome, love to have him in Portland next to Chris Kaman off the bench. #Pipedream

[Alpha_]

I thought he was banned from playing for the Phillipinnes?

That's Renaldo Balkman.

[Kevin]

I thought he was banned from playing for the Phillipinnes?

That's Renaldo Balkman.

Just saw the video and damn, that guy has balls

[JaketheFlake]

I feel sad for him , this might affect his self-confidence since NOBODY want him on their team. The Miami Heat should gamble on him, the 09-12 Hawks team, where J-Smoove was beasting, looks kind of familiar with the Heat team right now. I've drawn some trades that could replicate that hawks team (well kind of XD) http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=nghnf9v (Heat, Charlotte, Pacers) http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=mgqtkf6 (Heat, Charlotte, Thunder) These trades may need some tweaks though like the picks and other stuff

[Mandich]

Josh Smith is washed up. We've seen hundreds of player like him getting chances over and over again. He had the talent.

[JaketheFlake]

Josh Smith is washed up. We've seen hundreds of player like him getting chances over and over again. He had the talent.

He STILL has talent, it's just a matter of basketball discipline.

[Mandich]

Tell that to Michael Beasley amongst 100 other contracts that didn't quite work out.

I'm not saying he shouldn't be signed. If it's for a minimum wage, it's a no-risk deal which you can only profit from.

The same player who was tuted a perennial all-star.

[shadowgrin]

Josh Smith has had a far better and can even be considered successful career than Michael Beasley.
All Josh Smith needs is for a coach that has the balls to prevent him from shooting threes and long twos like he did in 2009-10

But didn't the PH team reach out to one of the Lopez brothers?

Nope. Other way around.
Robin Lopez was dangling his services to the team, some media people wanted it to happen because they thought Robin was Brook.

[NovU]

SVG tried doing that. Josh wasn't taking threes earlier this year and was playing strictly a PF position(very reason I was high on him in fantasy league). Though he can contribute in multiple things, it seems he's still a player that needs the ball in his hand and is inefficient one at that. Perhaps his basketball IQ is just dismal.

I believe they tried to deal him(perhaps for expiring contract like Bargnani but non taker) but failed to do so. I guess this is a good move because Josh definitely hinders others growth, both as a team and individual. Gutsy move by SVG.

[JaketheFlake]

SVG has some work to do I think Greg Monroe won't resign there. Dragic-Monroe swap sounds enticing

[benji]

SVG tried doing that. Josh wasn't taking threes earlier this year and was playing strictly a PF position(very reason I was high on him in fantasy league). Though he can contribute in multiple things, it seems he's still a player that needs the ball in his hand and is inefficient one at that. Perhaps his basketball IQ is just dismal.

Other way around, the Pistons were trying to play all three together, it was only in recent weeks that SVG fixed it so it was only two on the court at a time. The team vastly improved except it blew almost every game within 5 points or less.

The problem wasn't threes so much as it was that rather than taking them he was taking long twos. If he was going to stand outside he HAD to take threes because he doesn't shoot any better five feet in when you account for the extra point. He was taking a bunch of twos at 35% which is worse than the 25% he was shooting on threes because of the extra point and it clogged the floor more. He actually shot better with Monroe on the floor because he was giving him space and taking threes.

Plus he was shooting fucking 47% at the FT line. And playing Anthony Mason style on offense for his assists.

The team isn't going to get any better because the roster stinks and Smith was actually one of the few giving a shit on defense. But now they can forcefeed Monroe to get his numbers closer to 20/10/4 and surround him with shooters.

Problem is they can't play Monroe and Drummond together until Andre learns to operate from outside of the low post mainly by developing his passing and being smarter about crashing the boards from the outside like a say, Varejao does.

[benji]

Josh Smith is basically the ultimate stretch four and would be an all-time great except for that one little flaw. He can't shoot.

[NovU]

Yeah, everyone assumed Monroe gets to go to the doghouse and Josh was strictly going to be a PF. That was prior to the season start. But they saw time together greatly and Monroe was still a huge part of SVG's game plan. Josh's shot selection was questioned but I guess he simply can't shoot even if he's left wide open as FT% depicts. And he doesn't block no more and hasn't the same defensive force he once was. I think this was a nice gutsy move by SVG. Most would have just walked the given path to the pit.

[benji]

The problem is that Monroe is the teams best player now, but if SVG develops Andre anywhere close to half of how he developed Dwight into a complete player, Monroe won't be as important for long especially since he's closer to his peak value already. And then you might have a sixth man making max money.

I think they might have to bite the bullet on Monroe, and maybe even Jennings (though he's got a nicer contract) and start intentionally building around Andre. Problem is whether SVG is willing to do that, unlike Pat Riley was and other Coach/GM's. His protection in the organization and smarts might help him though.

Flat out waiving Smith is definitely a move that says to everyone, that the Pistons aren't business as usual. And Gores would have had to sign off on it. Which means there must be a large number of balls in this organization now and fewer phones:

[air gordon]

Lol who gives a shit about personal fantasy rankings in a non fantasy thread. Seriously

Maybe there isn't a right situation for him. The problem may not be the situation, it's the player. It would be a great feel story if he did latch on to a contender and play well in 15min role off the bench

[JaketheFlake]

Too bad "Detroit Basketball" is now associated to brick layering activities because of Smith , Jennings and Dre's free throws.

[Stress Fracture]

So Smith will sign with the Rockets once he clears waivers. Although good, I wonder how this will affect Motiejunas and Jones, once he comes back from that Steve Nash injury.

[I Hate Mondays]

practically, if he shows some potential and plays the way he should be playing,I believe he will kill minutes for Motiejunas and Jones. Jones will come off the bench for josh smith and Motiejunas could pe playing a back up center

[Andrew]

Maybe there isn't a right situation for him. The problem may not be the situation, it's the player. It would be a great feel story if he did latch on to a contender and play well in 15min role off the bench

Good point. Some players just don't get it, or ever end up in a situation where their strengths are put to good use and their weaknesses adequately minimised. The Rockets could be that feel-good situation though, since he certainly won't be ahead of Harden and Howard in the pecking order on offense, and he'll be sharing time with Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer, limiting his playing time and confining him to a smaller role.

[Alpha_]

It's redemption time for Smith.

[koberulz]

The problem wasn't threes so much as it was that rather than taking them he was taking long twos. If he was going to stand outside he HAD to take threes because he doesn't shoot any better five feet in when you account for the extra point.

Here's the problem I have with this logic: down one, two seconds to go. Do you take the three, or the long two? Obviously you take the long two, as it's higher-percentage and you're only going to get one shot off.

So why doesn't this apply the rest of the time? Surely there's at least a minimum number of attempts to make the three the better shot? And that's without taking into account the fact that a defensive rebound will lead to a fast break, whereas a baseline inbound won't, so simply scoring, regardless of the number of points, has value.

[benji]

The finite and limited situation of down one with two seconds to go is a resulting factor of all the previous possessions not the other way around. In fact in that situation, long two, open three, guarded layup, etc. all is irrelevant as the most important single factor is that you indeed get a shot off.

Defensive rebounds don't always lead to a fastbreak or else half the game would nothing but fastbreaks.

You don't build game strategy around extremely unlikely and uncontrollable events.

And in any case Smith was shooting below the acceptable threshold from both two AND three, so he might as well have been taking threes for the extra point and the extra spacing.

[koberulz]

The finite and limited situation of down one with two seconds to go is a resulting factor of all the previous possessions not the other way around. In fact in that situation, long two, open three, guarded layup, etc. all is irrelevant as the most important single factor is that you indeed get a shot off.

Sure, but really it's just a particularly obvious example of a score being more important than efficiency. Basically, you'd have to either take a large number of shots, or have a small disparity in percentage, for threes to come out ahead. If you're taking five shots, the extra point isn't going to make up for 35% dropping to 25%. Rounding that to whole shots, the closer shot wins four points to three.

Defensive rebounds don't always lead to a fastbreak or else half the game would nothing but fastbreaks.

I meant "may", not "will", and was overstating it anyway. Basically, a defensive rebound is better than a baseline inbound, for the offensive team, so scoring helps defensively.

So if you're giving up four points from two to score three points from three, resulting in one extra fast break opportunity and potentially lowering your defensive efficiency as well...

And in any case Smith was shooting below the acceptable threshold from both two AND three, so he might as well have been taking threes for the extra point and the extra spacing.

Actually, I think the optimal move in that case is the one the Pistons just made...

[benji]

Sure, but really it's just a particularly obvious example of a score being more important than efficiency. Basically, you'd have to either take a large number of shots

Yeah, like over the course of a game or season or something.