Charlotte Hornets: How Ish Smith can help LaMelo Ball and the Hornets

For the Charlotte Hornets staff, the top priority is to surround their young star LaMelo Ball with the talent to help him grow and excel as a player in the NBA. With the arrival of Ish Smith, Charlotte is hoping Smith’s leadership and experience in the league can be passed down to not only Ball but the rest of Charlotte’s young core.

While the signing of Smith was just a band-aid on the point guard position after losing both Devonte’ Graham and Malik Monk. Smith is more than capable of holding his own on the court. Smith is an elusive, smaller point guard, who has the ability to get to the rim and finish at a respectable rate. Smith shot 50.6% while in the paint. In comparison, Graham shot 35.8% from the same range.

Smith’s ability to get to the rim and finish will be a nice addition off the bench and should create a nice flow of offense when he’s on the court. Ball proved to be a capable finisher at the rim in his rookie season, hitting 50.8% of his shots in the paint, but having another guard next to him who possesses that same ability is sure to open things up for him.

Last season when head coach James Borrego deployed the three-guard lineup with Ball, Graham, and Terry Rozier, it was generating nice success offensively, posting a 116.2 offensive rating. While Smith is not as effective of a shooter as Graham is, Charlotte could still see some of the same success with Smith in the three-guard lineup. Having three ball-handlers on the court at the same time who all can be a threat from distance, and get to the rim, something Graham struggled with, will provide some nice spark minutes.

While Smith is sure to make his on-court minutes count, his off the court impact will be just as important. Not many players have been around the league quite like Smith. He will be entering his 11th season in the NBA and will be joining his 12th team, tying a current league record. A well-traveled man has a lot of stories and Smith’s voyages will surely be told to Ball and the young Hornets team.

While he’s never exactly been a featured player on a roster, Smith has competed in the playoffs on several occasions which is not something the majority of the Hornets roster can say. Smith should be able to provide pointers on what a winning NBA culture looks like and help guide the young Hornets team towards that direction.

Smith may not be in Charlotte for the long term but his short stay should be beneficial to Charlotte’s young core. With the Hornets losing the likes of Graham, Monk, Bismack Biyombo, Cody Zeller, and Brad Wanamaker to a lesser extent, a veteran voice was needed in the locker room. Hopefully, Smith can fill that void.