Ish Smith Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Magic, Sixers, Nets, Celtics

September 21st, 2012 at 5:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The biggest NBA news of the day so far has come out of Philadelphia, where the 76ers are announced Tony DiLeo's promotion to general manger. SI.com's Sam Amick has a few additional details on the move, including some other names that the Sixers pursued. According to Amick, the Sixers were turned down when they asked permission to speak to Jazz executive Kevin O'Connor and Thunder exec Troy Weaver. Here are a few more Friday notes out of the Eastern Conference:

Harkless' and Smith's injuries will not be healed in time for the regular season, keeping them out of the Magic lineup until mid-November, Schmitz writes, updating his earlier tweet (below).

Earlier updates:

Amick adds that the 76ers may still hire a more analytically-inclined executive to work alongside DiLeo in the Philadelphia front office.
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov had praise for GM Billy King and coach Avery Johnson, whose contracts are set to expire at season's end. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News passes along Prokhorov's quotes in a pair of tweets.
Al Harrington, Maurice Harkless, and Ish Smith, all recovering from offseason surgery, are expected to miss training camp, tweets Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. All three players were added by the Magic this summer.
J.J. Redick understands that the Magic are in a transition year, but says he loves playing in Orlando and that he and GM Rob Hennigan are "on the same page" when it comes to his future (Twitter links via John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com).
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com looks into which Celtics on non-guaranteed contracts are the best bets to earn a roster spot, concluding that Dionte Christmas is a clear-cut favourite.
Raja Bell tells Andy Slater of 640 AM Sports in Miami that the Heat would be his first choice in free agency if he can work out a buyout with the Jazz (Sulia link via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel).
In his latest mailbag for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman debates whether the Heat or Celtics had the better offseason and examines where Miami's roster stands.

Magic Re-Sign Ish Smith

August 15th, 2012 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

3:38pm: Smith's deal is for three years, but only the first year is guaranteed, tweets Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.

12:07pm: The Magic have re-signed point guard Ish Smith, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deal aren't known, so it's not clear whether Smith received a full guarantee, or whether he'll just be invited to training camp with a chance to earn a roster spot.

Earlier this month, the Magic were reportedly seeking a third point guard to provide depth behind Jameer Nelson and Chris Duhon, with Smith mentioned as a candidate. Of course, Duhon was since traded to the Lakers in the Dwight Howard blockbuster, and none of the six players Orlando received in the deal are point guards. While that should bode well for Smith's chances of landing a spot on the team, it also means the Magic are probably still in the market for another backup behind Nelson.

Smith, 24, has already played for the Rockets, Grizzlies, Warriors, and Magic in just two NBA seasons, but finished the 2011/12 season in Orlando, playing 8.6 minutes per game in 20 contests for the Magic.

Magic Searching For Third Point Guard

August 6th, 2012 at 10:08am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 10:08am: Ish Smith is expected to take part in training camp with the Magic, tweets HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler, though no deal between Smith and the club has been reported. Smith spent the latter part of 2011/12 with the Magic after signing in February for the rest of the season.

SATURDAY, 4:26pm: Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel breaks down the remaining offseason priorities for the Magic. Resolving the Dwight Howard situation is high on the list, of course, but so is finding a third point guard to slot behind Jameer Nelson and Chris Duhon. Robbins says the team will "definitely" have another point guard on the roster by the start of the season, and adds that bringing back Ish Smith to compete with Duhon for the backup role is a possibility.

The Magic have the full $5MM mid-level exception at their disposal, but it's doubtful they'd use all of it sign someone from the paltry list of remaining unrestricted free agent point guards. No restricted free agent point guard are left. They could go with a veteran option, like Mike Bibby or Jannero Pargo, or turn to a younger player like Jonny Flynn or Armon Johnson. Gilbert Arenas is still on the market, but since the Magic used the amnesty clause to waive him before the start of last season, he's ineligible to sign with the team until 2014/15, after his contract with the Magic was to have expired.

Sundiata Gaines, who averaged 5.1 points and 2.2 assists in 13.9 minutes as a backup for the Nets last season, could be the best option. He's the only unsigned free agent point guard who put up a PER of at least 15.0, the mark of an average player. That's decidedly better than the 5.6 and 8.4 PERs Duhon has compiled in his two seasons with the Magic after signing a four-year, $13.25MM contract. Still, all of this is just my speculation, as the Magic haven't been linked to any of these options.

The Magic could also acquire a point guard via trade, but it seems like any such move would be on the backburner until the team figures out what it's going to do with Howard.

Odds & Ends: Smith, Olympics, Anthony

April 11th, 2012 at 7:32pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Two of the nation's top high school prospects, Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad, have been creating some buzz in the college basketball world regarding which schools they will commit to respectively for the 2012-13 season. While Muhammad announced that he will choose UCLA, Jeff Goodman of CBS tweets that Noel has chosen Kentucky over Syracuse and Georgetown. ESPN's Chad Ford provides a look at who could possibly headline the 2013 NBA Draft (Insider link), and Noel and Shabazz top the list. With that aside, we'll keep tabs of this evening's other noteworthy stories here:

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel took some time to shed some light on Magic guard Ishmael Smith after his standout performance against the Pistons on Monday. In a separate piece, Schmitz outlines the uphill battle Orlando faces as they look to clinch a playoff spot. Six of their last eight games are against above-.500 teams, and four of those games are on the road.
If Ray Allen and Dwyane Wade could have things their way, players on the USA basketball team would be compensated for their participation in the Olympics. While Allen sees it as a matter of opportunity cost, Wade focused more on the jersey sales and summer commitment aspect of it (Scott Gleeson of USA Today reports). According to Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports, Team USA Chairman Jerry Colangelo responded to their comments, saying: "It’s never been discussed and it’s not even feasible in the reality of economics."
Jim Cavan of the New York Times examines the emergence of Carmelo Anthony after being moved to the power forward slot as well as the role it has played in the Knicks' recent success. If New York can hang onto a playoff spot and Amare Stoudemire is cleared to play, it will be interesting to see how Anthony will translate that success at the small forward position with Amare in the lineup.
The Kings team owners will make a case to the NBA Board of Governors in New York that the plan to finance a new arena in Sacramento needs more negotiating, writes Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee.
Gilbert Arenas tells J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today that he is happy to be out of the spotlight in Memphis as he looks to move forward from his troubled past.

Magic Sign Ish Smith

February 2nd, 2012 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have finalized their signing of Ishmael Smith, as Scott Schroeder of Ricidulous Upside writes. Yahoo's Marc Spears first reported last night that Orlando was expected to add the recent D-League signee today.

Smith, 23, signed a contract with the D-League earlier this week, but didn't even play a single game before the Magic plucked him off the roster of the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Orlando is his third NBA stop so far this season, after he was cut by the Grizzlies and Warriors earlier in the year.

Smith's contract likely isn't guaranteed yet, Schroeder adds. The Magic waived Larry Hughes to clear a roster spot for Smith.

Magic Expected To Sign Ish Smith

January 31st, 2012 at 11:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

This post was originally published on February 1st.

According to Marc Spears of Y! Sports (via Twitter), the Orlando Magic are expected to sign point guard Ish Smith on Thursday. With Jameer Nelson recovering from a concussion and not expected to return until Monday night against the Clippers, the Magic looked to add help at the point guard position.

Smith played in six games for the Golden State Warriors and had averaged 4.5 PPG and 1.5 APG in 10.5 MPG before being waived in January. The Charlotte native produced in a standout game against the New York Knicks earlier this season in which he scored 11 points, dished out 4 assists, grabbed 6 rebounds, and had 2 steals in 29 minutes.

Smith had recently signed a contract to play in the NBA D-League.

Ishmael Smith Signs With D-League

January 30th, 2012 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent point guard Ishmael Smith has signed a contract with the NBA D-League, according to Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside.

Smith, 23, appeared in six games earlier this season for the Warriors, earning a start in December against the Knicks as an injury replacement for Stephen Curry. As an undrafted rookie a year ago, Smith saw part-time action in 43 combined games for the Rockets and Grizzlies. The Wake Forest product will find a team after he clears waivers tomorrow, reports Schroeder.