The Detroit Pistons have waived forward Josh Smith, the team announced on Monday. Smith is in the second season of a four-year, $54 million contract. Detroit has used the stretch provision on him, per the Detroit News' Vincent Goodwill.
"Our team has not performed the way we had expected throughout the first third of the season and adjustments need to be made in terms of our focus and direction," Pistons president and head coach Stan Van Gundy said in a statement. "We are shifting priorities to aggressively develop our younger players while also expanding the roles of other players in the current rotation to improve performance and build for our future. As we expand certain roles, others will be reduced. In fairness to Josh, being a highly versatile 10-year veteran in this league, we feel it's best to give him his freedom to move forward. We have full respect for Josh as a player and a person."
This is stunning news. Smith has struggled since arriving in Detroit last season, and Van Gundy reportedly tried his best to trade him, but you never expect something this drastic to happen with a player who has two years and $27 million left on his deal. It is unprecedented in that Smith hadn't gotten into trouble off the court or caused any problems in the locker room. He just never fit, and former general manager Joe Dumars never should have signed him.
The Pistons tried to make a push for the playoffs last season when they added Smith and acquired point guard Brandon Jennings. Both players were inefficient, and Smith was stuck starting at small forward next to Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. While he had performed at a high level on both ends at the power forward position in Atlanta, his tenure with the Pistons featured bricked jumper after bricked jumper.
With Van Gundy taking over as head coach, there was a renewed sense of hope about Smith and the team in general entering this season. Instead of improving, though, Smith's field goal percentage dropped from 42 percent to 39 percent. His 3-point percentage dropped from 26 percent to 24 percent. His free throw percentage dropped from 53 percent to 47 percent. Detroit has not been cohesive on either end of the floor, and it has lost 18 of its 23 games.
In Brooklyn on Sunday, Van Gundy spoke about shifting his thinking when it comes to gameplanning, via the Detroit News. He said he would get Drummond more post-up opportunities, run more plays for second-year guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and give rookie Spencer Dinwiddie more minutes.
"The future is certainly the utmost priority," Van Gundy said. "What we want to do, I don't think the goals have changed at all. We want to build a contending team. I think rather than sacrifice future for getting to whatever number of wins is not the smart way to go. As far as personnel moves, everything's gotta be aimed to the future."
Now you have to wonder if, when he said those words, he knew he'd be releasing Smith the next day. No one predicted it. Of course, getting rid of Smith's 32 minutes and 14 shots a game should help Van Gundy give his younger players room to grow.
The Pistons could have traded Smith to the Sacramento Kings for Carl Landry and Jason Thompson last summer, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, but they decided against it. Apparently Van Gundy felt simply waiving him was better for the team's future.
If a team claimed Smith and his massive contract, it would be even more shocking than this move. The safe bet is that he'll clear waivers, then be able to choose his next destination. Despite his poor play in Detroit, he's still capable of helping teams win games with his defense, rebounding and scoring on the inside. You'd have to think teams like the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers could use him, though Clippers president and head coach Doc Rivers said, "I don't know" when asked about it shortly after the news broke, per the LA Times' Brad Turner. The Dallas Mavericks, who just acquired Rajon Rondo, Smith's high school teammate and good friend, are interested in him, according to ESPN's Marc Stein, and so are the Kings.
It's sad that things sunk so low for Smith with the Pistons. The 29-year-old can be maddening to watch, but his skill set means he'll get another chance. We'll see soon where he lands up, and if a change of scenery and role can get his career back on track.
