Detroit Pistons Agree To 3-Year Deal With Ish Smith

By Aaron Ferguson | Jul 1, 2016

Jan 9, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (1) shoots a free throw against the Toronto Raptors during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Raptors won 108-95. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The Detroit Pistons and free agent point guard Ish Smith have agreed to a three-year, $18 million deal. What does he bring to the Pistons?

The Detroit Pistons have agreed to terms on a three-year, $18 million deal with former Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ish Smith, according to MLive‘s David Mayo and the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Keith Pompey. He is an unrestricted free agent, so that means the 76ers have to watch him walk with little chance of retaining him.

Smith, 27, was coming off the bench for part of last season with the New Orleans Pelicans before the 76ers traded for him and brought him to Philadelphia for his second stint. The Pistons will be the 10th team that Smith has played for as he will be entering his seventh NBA season.

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With the Pelicans, Smith was averaging 22.9 minutes per game while coming off the bench in 24 of his 27 games with the Pels. He averaged 8.9 points and 5.7 assists per game during his time there.

Once he arrived in Philadelphia, Smith became a starting point guard and started all 50 games that he played. In 32.4 minutes, his numbers went up to 14.7 points and 7.0 assists per game.

His shooting line for the entire season was .411/.329/.693. He had a rather impressive assist rate, at 38.3 percent and kept turnovers down, only turning it over 14.4 percent of the time. He is used to having the ball in his hands with a 23.9 usage rate, which bodes well for a bench unit that didn’t have a ball-handler.

Now the Pistons can use Smith as their playmaking point guard off the bench. Smith’s best attribute is his quickness, which he needs since he is only 6’0″. He can use his speed to move the ball down the court and effectively get in the paint off of pick-and-rolls.

Smith, who is a true journeyman, will finally be able to settle down in Detroit thanks to an anticipated three-year deal. The Pistons have a good young core of players that took the Cleveland Cavaliers through the most competitive four-game sweep the NBA has seen.

Detroit already has their core players signed long-term, including Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris, and they have Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson on their rookie contracts.

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Smith will play on a second unit with Johnson, who showcased his potential as a two-way player. Smith will also get to play with first-round draft pick Henry Ellenson, who could be a great teammate in the pick-and-roll game.

Ellenson’s ability to pop and hit a midrange jumper, play face-up or roll to the basket will give Smith plenty of options to dish to him, or take it into the paint himself.

Smith’s quickness and ability to secure the basketball will be a huge plus for the bench unit, who was the worst scoring bench in the NBA last season, according to HoopsStats.com.

The Pistons are now able to pursue a backup power forward or wing player. They were able to gain additional spending money by trading shooting guard Jodie Meeks to the Orlando Magic.

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This should work out to be a good deal for the Pistons and Smith over the course of the contract. Barring any future trades, Smith will be able to finally settle down with one team and have a defined role, instead of bouncing around the NBA.

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