ish smith

Pelicans.com

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has acquired two future second round draft picks from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for point guard Ish Smith.

Smith, 6-0, 175, appeared in 27 games (three starts) for the Pelicans after being signed as an unrestricted free agent on Oct. 26, averaging 8.9 points, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game.

Undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2010, Smith holds career averages of 4.2 points, 2.6 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game over 273 regular season contests.

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Pelicans Acquire Two Future Second Round Picks From Philadelphia

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It’s 2015, yet he still politely says “yes sir” and “no sir” during interviews, as though he’s from some previous generation. Nearly every time he walks onto a basketball court, he points with both arms skyward, thanking God for the opportunity to play the game he loves.

New Orleans point guard Ish Smith is only 27 years old, but in many ways, he’s a throwback player to a different era. That’s perhaps most evident when Smith checks into a game off the Pelicans’ bench and the 6-foot, 175-pounder has the ball in his hands. In a league where shoot-first point guards have become in vogue, Smith consistently first scans the floor to see what scoring opportunities might be available to his four teammates.

The Wake Forest University product’s pass-first approach has helped make him one of the NBA’s best early-season individual successes. Signed by the Pelicans as a free agent just 24 hours before their Oct. 27 opener at Golden State, Smith immediately stepped in and effectively ran the offense. As a result, one month into the 82-game campaign, he ranks fourth in the league in assists (8.1 per game). The little-known floor general’s name sits on the NBA leaderboard just below perennial All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul, slightly above John Wall and Damian Lillard. Not bad for a guy who’s been a member of nine different NBA teams, having already played in all six divisions over just a six-season span.

“He’s become a really good story,” Pelicans first-year head coach Alvin Gentry said. “What he’s done, from the standpoint of being a guy that you pick up off the waiver wire. He’s earned it, he really has. He’s worked extremely hard. He’s been in and out of the league, been cut by teams, but he’s really hung in there. He’s playing great for our team. I couldn’t be happier for a guy – he’s such a great kid.”

Born in Charlotte, N.C., Smith’s parents emphasized the importance of being respectful to others, a trait Smith describes as common in this region of the country. As a youngster, one of his chores consisted of helping out with the family’s janitorial service, which his father and mother owned and operated.

“A lot of people have different role models,” Smith said. “My mom and dad have been my role models, in the sense of how I act and how they treated us, how we were raised. They owned their own business and were really successful in that. They were entrepreneurs, business owners.”

In his first month as a Pelican, it’s sometimes been jarring to hear him speak to the media, with him liberally sprinkling in “yes sir” at the beginning of his responses, an old-school politeness that seems long forgotten. That also originates from his mom and dad.

“That’s the South,” Smith said, smiling proudly about his background. “It comes from my parents. A lot of people in the South, it’s ‘yes sir, no sir.’ Treat everybody with respect and the way you want to be treated.”

Smith’s practice of thanking God when he checks into a game stems from his religious upbringing (Pelicans teammate Ryan Anderson often gestures similarly when the power forward steps onto the hardwood), an important aspect of his daily life.

“Growing up, I tried to put things in perspective,” the Central Cabarrus High hoops standout said. “Every time I step on the floor, I’m just thanking Him for giving me another opportunity to play this game. I’m excited about being out there. So when people see me, hopefully they see my spirituality and my relationship with God. It’s just natural now. Every time I hit the floor, I try to do it.”

When Smith made his NBA debut on Oct. 26, 2010, as an undrafted free agent for the Rockets playing against the Lakers in the Staples Center, he never could’ve imagined how tumultuous the next few years would be for his career. Since being dealt by Houston at the February 2011 trade deadline, Smith has also played for Memphis, Golden State, Orlando, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and now New Orleans. The annual mid-February deadline has been particularly active for Smith, who’s changed addresses in 2011, 2013 and 2015. He’s also been traded once in the offseason (August 2013) and waived a whopping six times. In other words, plenty of teams have wanted Smith’s services, but none have decided to keep him around for long. His 70 games with Phoenix in 2013-14 are the most he’s played for one franchise. While it’s every young basketball player’s dream to play in the NBA, no one envisions being a name constantly appearing in the “transactions” department of the newspaper’s sports section. No one wants to become an expert at packing up and moving, or having to constantly deal with change. As you can imagine, there have been times where the constantly-evolving circumstances have irked Smith.

“You know what? I’d be lying to you if I say, ‘I’ve learned from every situation (and it’s all been great),’ ” Smith admitted. “No, it’s been frustrating. There have been situations where it’s like, man, this is tough. But I’ve had some great teammates and I’ve tried in each situation to take something from it. I’ve been waiting for that opportunity and kept repeating to myself, ‘It’s coming. It’s coming.’ ”

Smith also credits many of his ex-teammates – at this point, he’s probably played with half of the NBA – for helping to keep him encouraged about the future.

“The teammates I’ve had have been great,” Smith said. “A lot of times they would say to me, ‘Ish, man I can’t wait till you get that (right) opportunity.’ Or after I’ve been traded or released, they text me and say, ‘Just keep going. It’s coming.’ ”

Ironically, Smith sometimes has found himself trying to reason with people close to him who don’t understand why the guard keeps being shuttled from team to team, despite per-36-minute averages of 11.1 points, 7.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals.

“Sometimes they get stressed out and up and down (dealing emotionally with the circumstances of Smith’s eventful NBA career),” Smith said, smiling as he describes some of his phone conversations with family and friends. “And I’ve had to be the calm one.”

Befitting of a player with Smith’s itinerant NBA background, his debut with the Pelicans came with zero practices and only one shootaround under his belt, as he tried to rapidly digest the team’s playbook. Fortunately Smith is a quick learner, because 24 hours after officially signing with New Orleans, he faced the daunting assignment of trying to slow down Golden State’s Stephen Curry. While Curry and the Warriors rolled to a 111-95 victory, launching their historic and still-active winning streak, Smith quickly opened eyes, a sign of things to come. He registered 17 points, nine assists and three steals, keeping the Pelicans competitive. New Orleans was plus-4 with Smith on the floor, but minus-20 when he wasn’t.

Over the ensuing month, Smith has been a constant bright spot for the injury-ravaged and slow-starting Pelicans (4-13), posting five double-doubles, including the first of his career Nov. 10 vs. Dallas, NOLA’s first victory of 2015-16.

An inconsistent perimeter shot is perhaps the biggest reason Smith has had difficulty finding a permanent NBA home, but he’s on pace to surpass his career highs in a range of offensive categories, including averaging 11.9 points per game (his prior best is 6.1). While ranking No. 4 in the NBA in assists, he’s tallied double-digit points in seven consecutive games. In doing so, he’s surpassed all expectations New Orleans may have had for him in late October.

“I think anybody would be lying to say that he hasn’t (exceeded expectations),” Gentry said. “We were just looking for a guy who was going to be solid. We thought we’d be able to play him a few minutes, because he’s been in the league. But our style of play has really fit him well. In this league, it’s all about taking advantage of opportunities. He’s done a really good job of taking advantage of the opportunities that have been presented to him.”

After a 20-point, 11-assist performance in a Nov. 25 Pelicans road win over one of his former teams, the Phoenix media surrounded Smith’s locker and asked why he’d been waived by the Suns in 2014.

“You’ve got to talk to them,” Smith responded, politely and showing no signs of ill will. “But I’m in a good place right now. Great teammates, great coaching staff, great city, great fans. I’m truly, truly blessed and thank God for the position I’m in.”

Gentry compared Smith’s NBA adversity to that of New Orleans native Avery Johnson, who was an NBA journeyman prior to finding a home in San Antonio, where he won a title in 1999 and now has his No. 6 jersey retired by the Spurs.

“This is a situation where Ish has gotten the most opportunities to succeed,” Gentry said of playing for New Orleans. “Sometimes that’s what it takes. I always tell all the point guards the story of Avery Johnson, a guy from here. If I’m not mistaken, he got cut six times in the NBA before he landed in San Antonio. Sometimes it’s all about the fit. Avery went on to win championships and was almost like having another coach on the floor.”

“Everybody has a story,” Smith said, thinking back on his less-than-ideal path that got him to this point. “You think, ‘I want my story to be (better), not this.’ At the time when things are happening, it’s frustrating. There have been a lot of times where I thought, I’m playing really, really well (and should be able to stay with one team). It makes you put things in perspective and know that just as well as it can go, it can go (the other way). You’ve got to keep pressing and pushing and try to get better.

“Sometimes things take a while. But looking back on it now, I wouldn’t change anything.”

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NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed guard Ish Smith. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Smith, 6-0, 175, spent the 2015 preseason with Washington, appearing in five games while averaging 2.2 points and 4.0 assists in 11.5 minutes per game. Undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2010, Smith has appeared in 246 career regular season games with Houston, Memphis, Golden State, Orlando, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Oklahoma City and Philadelphia, holding career averages of 3.6 points, 2.3 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.

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