The Pistons are reportedly trading for Sixers wing Zhaire Smith but it’s unlikely they’ll keep him. They plan to waive Smith and use the stretch provision on his contract, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports tweets.
However, while they will likely do so, it’s not definite, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards III (Twitter link). The Pistons would like to either keep that roster spot open and/or they have something else in the works, Edwards adds.
Smith was due to make $3.2MM during the upcoming season but that was the only guarantee left on his rookie contract. His $4.915MM salary for the 2021/22 season includes a team option. If the Pistons stretch his contract for three years, the cap hit would be around $1MM per season.
Detroit’s new GM Troy Weaver has executed a flurry of moves in recent days to completely reshape the roster. In one of those moves, he acquired center Tony Bradley from the Jazz, a trade that became official on Sunday. He then reached an agreement with the Sixers to ship Bradley to Philadelphia for Smith.
As we noted earlier, Smith has barely seen the court during his first two professional seasons, mainly due to health issues. He’s appeared in just 13 total NBA games. The Pistons seemingly have no interest in reviving Smith’s career and were just seeking to clear a frontcourt logjam by trading Bradley.
Lol. People on other thread. I can’t believe sixers got back nothing for Smith. 2hours later a team trying to tank(pistons) is waving him. Smith is G A R B A G E
Hardly played hard to say he is garbage last years numbers we’re pretty good in limited minutes.
Maybe a good reclamation project for the Knicks or Thunder.
Not sure why you hate Smith? Anyway he was a class act during his 2 years in Philly, an injury a freak allergic reaction and he really never got the chance to develop or have a role in which to do so. Seems like a solid young man with freakish athletic ability. If he can in the right situation I think he could still find a niche role in this league.
nobody likes smith because it should of been homegrown bridges playing in philly. won’t ever let that mistake go.
Is that Zaire Smith’s fault?
Yes. He wooed Brown with his Kahwi comp
That has nothing to do with Smith. I didn’t like the trade at the time, but I still liked him. He didn’t seem to display a great feel for the game and I expected a better defensive presence from him. But his athletic ability is still great, but he never got to develop here…and buried on our depth chart he was not even going to get minutes. Still hope things work out for him. I would love to see him with Toronto and see what Nurse and company can do with him.
To put it nicely, because he’s a nice guy and class individual, he’s not an nba player. Injuries, illnesses… sure. But all that did was delay Philly finding out that they made a mistake in drafting him. Again, great kid. But, if you saw him play at the YMCA or Lifetime Fitness, you’d say he can jump and is a helluva athlete. Even in that setting you wouldn’t call him a great basketball player.
His game is tailor-made for Europe where they love the American players to be exactly what he is – an athletic dunker. They’ll love him there and he’ll make great money – not to mention receiving a cool $mil for the next 3 years from the nba. Good for him!
Smith sounds like Ira Bowman, he was that kind of player and was insanely athletic.
I thought Smith was the best 2G out of the 2018 draft. His one year at Texas Tech was very impressive, in his play and how he handled incorporating himself into a SR laden team that was quite good. Dynamic athlete. Lockdown defender. Unreal dunker. Good college 3 pt shooter. Not sure why he couldn’t adjust to the NBA. He was short for a 2G, but had a huge (6’11”) wingspan. Anyway, if released, I’d take a flyer on what I saw that year alone.
The thing with Smith was he was the most athletic wing in the draft but pretty raw otherwise. After he had that allergic reaction and he lost 40 pounds he no real advantage to get minutes. I still think he could be good but at this point the sixers really don’t have time for him anymore and I guess neither do the Pistons
He should go to Toronto. They know how to develop players .
I’d prefer him over Bembry tbh…
Bulls don’t have any slots but they should give him a shot somehow.
Zhaire has played more minutes on 2K them real life… He’s decent but needs playing time. A Shamet/Korkmaz type player with a bit more athleticism…
Exactly. He needs PT; he needs to gain experience at SG.
I can see why the Sixers would drop him, but not the Pistons. GM Weaver has shown a definite preference, and it’s not Zhaire’s type (drafted Saddiq, Stewart); and he has been tossing players around… but surely he’s tradeable?
@jumpshot indicated he saw him play and was not impressed. Maybe it’s the weight loss, or a larger problem with allergies. Sounds so funny, allergic to sesame seeds… he could take the bun off the top, it’s just carbs anyway… bring out the taste of the special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a plate and tortillo
Look at Shayok. He got waived and is leagues and bounds better than Zhaire. Not shocked. A terrible move to trade out of the pick originally with Bridges AND Michael Bleeping Porter Jr on the board. They wasted that Heat pick on Harris too.