Ish Smith‘s new contract with the Hornets is a one-year, minimum-salary deal that is fully non-guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Although Smith didn’t sign in the offseason, his salary won’t be prorated, since he finalized his deal on the very first day of the regular season. That means if he remains under contract through January 7, 2024, which would guarantee his full salary, he’ll make $3,196,448 while the Hornets carry a cap hit of $2,019,706. Until then, he’ll earn $18,370 per day, with no assurances for the full season.
Smith is one of three Hornets players without a fully guaranteed salary — Frank Ntilikina and JT Thor are also on non-guaranteed contracts.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Max Strus‘ debut with the Cavaliers couldn’t have gone much better, as the club’s new starting small forward racked up 27 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in Wednesday’s win over Brooklyn. “I wish I could guarantee that every night, but I don’t think it’s going to be like that,” Strus said after the game, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “I think we have so many talented guys on this roster. It’s going to be anybody’s night any given game. One through 15, anybody can step up and play for us. That’s when our team is going to be very successful when we’re all enjoying each other’s success, and everybody is chipping in.”
- After Jalen Johnson, De’Andre Hunter, and Saddiq Bey each played at least 29 minutes in the Hawks’ regular season opener, head coach Quin Snyder stressed that he expects all three forwards to get regular playing time and that he doesn’t necessarily need to roll with just two of them at the expense of the third. “It’s not a binary question of Jalen or Saddiq,” Snyder said (Twitter link via Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks). “Maybe tonight will make that clear.”
- While he acknowledged that a blowout loss at home – followed by a players-only meeting – wasn’t exactly a great way to start the season, Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan said the important thing is how the team bounces back in its second game on Friday, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “You can sit up there and have a million conversations about something,” DeRozan said. “But it’s about how you respond and the mindset that I know how everybody came in here (to practice) with, how they feel. That’s how I know for a fact (Friday) will not be like (Wednesday). I can guarantee you that.”
- The NBA has recognized Ayo Dosunmu for his work off the court, naming the Bulls guard the winner of the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist award, the league announced on Thursday in a press release.
Ayo Dosunmu is one of the best human beings in the NBA. Great kid with a big heart, and a great family.
@Very Barry – One of the most refreshing and accurate comments I’ve read on here in quite some time. Thank you, and I couldn’t agree more. This young man deserves all the good things that come his way, and I hope all the good karma he’s built up ultimately provides him some good fortune on the court as well.
On a separate note, good grief, the Bulls couldn’t have come out with a less inspiring performance to start their season.
Obviously, some nights the ball just doesn’t bounce your way, and that was most definitely the case with the Bulls their last game. OKC couldn’t miss, and the Bulls couldn’t buy a bucket during several points in that game.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just bad luck offensively for the Bulls. This Bulls team will likely always be a streaky and inconsistent scoring team when they’re taking predominantly poor percentage shots all throughout the night.
That was one of the main reasons why this team excelled and played so well while Lonzo Ball was running the point. If he wasn’t pushing the ball and putting pressure against the defense, then he was creating open looks by making crisp passes and he was always looking to help set up his teammates.
While Colby White has improved his court vision and his decision making, he’s no Lonzo Ball. There are just some point guards in the NBA that are able to see the game differently, and it allows them to make everyone around them better. I don’t think it is a trait that you just pickup or one that you can really work on improving a whole bunch. Idk, some guys just have it, while there are plenty others that don’t.
Sadly, Lonzo ain’t coming back anytime soon, and until the Bulls get a real PG, they aren’t going anywhere. In all likelihood, this Bulls squad will get blown up before they find their new PG…
I don’t think they should totally blow it up, I just think they need to replace DDR with a 3&D wing, find their PG of the future, and then bring in a versatile 4, and they should be more than competitive once again …
What you provided is impossible without blowing it up.
The 3 positions you just provided are like the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th most coveted players in the league. The most coveted is a big SF who becomes your star. Then a PG is usually among the highest next items. Then a versatile 4. Then a 3&D wing.
The Bulls are up against the luxury tax as is. They got Craig who actually played well on Wednesday. He’s a 3 and D wing and a 4. Coby isn’t Lonzo and needs to improve his shot but otherwise is getting to be a starting caliber PG.
Replacing DDR means they have no 2nd star caliber player. They’ll instantly be a bottom 5 team.
So if you are trading DDR, you are basically hitting the full rebuild button.