On Aug. 3 at 6 p.m., exactly 24 hours after the free agency window opened, the Charlotte Hornets made their first signing, agreeing to terms with Ish Smith. The contract would be a one-year deal worth $4.6 million with a team option for a second season. This news came after it was announced that Devonte’ Graham would be joining the New Orleans Pelicans via sign and trade and Malik Monk would be joining the Los Angeles Lakers.
General manager Mitch Kupchak and staff decided to let all of their guard depth walk away in free agency instead of paying them to stay in Charlotte. It doesn’t take long to look back at Charlotte’s free-agent history to explain why they came to this decision. Charlotte isn’t far removed from crippling their cap space by signing Nic Batum to a five-year $120 million deal, Cody Zeller to a four-year $56 million deal, and trading for Bismack Biyombo who was on a four-year $72 million deal.
These moves set Charlotte back a lot of years and are a big reason as to why they had to let Kemba Walker go a couple of years ago. In hindsight, that’s proved to be the right move, but in a perfect world, Charlotte can build a better team around Walker instead of having the bulk of their cap space loaded into guys who just aren’t moving the needle.
Fast forward a few years and Charlotte is not wanting to repeat those mistakes as they look to build their roster around Rookie of the Year award winner LaMelo Ball.
With the loss of their backcourt depth, Charlotte brings in Smith, 33, who is entering his 11th year in the league and will now be joining his 12th team, tying a league record. Smith most recently played with the Washington Wizards featuring in 44 games and averaging 21.0 minutes, 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. Smith shot the ball well hitting 43.3% from the field and 36.7% from three.
Smith will slot in behind Ball as a reliable backup and will add a veteran presence to a very young roster. He can play either guard position and doesn’t need a ton of minutes to make an impact. He’s a fine playmaker, shooter and should be key to the continued development of Charlotte’s young core. The work ethic and knowledge of the game that he brings to the court are two traits that Kupchak and staff are hoping to rub off on the rest of the team.
This signing is a band-aid on the guard depth as Charlotte prepares for the season. Player development has been the number one goal since Kupchak and head coach James Borrego started and that will continue into this next season. Charlotte is hoping they have drafted a gem in James Bouknight and are likely wanting him to get as many reps alongside Ball as possible as that pair will hopefully be the backcourt of the future.
Smith provides serviceable minutes at a cheap price and brings leadership qualities that the team desperately needed. This is a solid signing and it temporarily fills a hole, but it doesn’t blow you away. There’s also doubt that Smith will be on the roster this time next year which could be seen as both a good and a bad thing. All in all this signing receives a passing grade.