WASHINGTON, DC – The Washington Wizards announced today that they have signed free-agent guard Ish Smith. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Ish is capable of both scoring and distributing the ball while playing at the pace we want to see this season,” said Wizards Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Tommy Sheppard. “We know him well from his years in the league as well as the time he spent with us in training camp. We look forward to the personality and veteran leadership he’ll bring to the team.”
Smith (6-0, 175lbs.) holds career averages of 7.4 points, 3.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in 542 career games (142 starts) over nine NBA seasons with Houston, Memphis, Orlando, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Detroit. He averaged 8.9 points, 3.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds for the Pistons during the 2018-19 season.
In three seasons with Detroit (2015-18), Smith averaged 9.7 points, 4.4 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game. The 30-year-old veteran averaged career-highs in points (14.7 ppg), assists (7.0 apg) and rebounds (4.3 rpg) during the 2015-16 season with the Philadelphia 76ers after being a member of the Wizards’ training camp roster in 2015.
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Smith went undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2010, where he finished second all-time for assists in school history. He is the only player in school history to finish with 1,000 points and 600 assists.