Is Josh Smith Best Man To Lift Rockets

Is Josh Smith the best man for the Rockets?

I guess we’ll find out soon enough, in fact it’s likely we’ll get our first look this evening when the Rockets take on their inter-division rivals Memphis who currently sit a half game ahead of them in the Southwest Division.

In the not so well guarded secret, Smith who was released Monday from the Detroit Pistons signed with Houston today, joining childhood friend and former Atlantic Celtics, AAU teammate Dwight Howard.

Though several teams vied to add the 6’9″ power forward, a few franchises appeared to have the inside track. Howard is one of two NBA athletes who have a strong relationship with Smith going back to their high school days in Atlanta. Smith also played with Rajon Rondo at Oak Hill Academy, where he transferred in his senior year.

With the on-going battle between Houston General Manager Daryl Morey and Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban to one-up each other it was thought Rondo, who signed with Dallas last week might be able to persuade Smith to join the Mavs. It soon became clear however that Dallas wasn’t an option as a key caveat for Smith was a guaranteed starting position. With franchise star Dirk Nowitzki firmly entrenched at power forward that meant Dallas wouldn’t make Smith’s shortlist.

Look who is sitting in the chair to the left of Smith.

While teams fell off Smith’s short list Houston provided the best option as they met his list of needs:

A starting position
Additional funds in the neighborhood of $2.077 believed to be available from the bi-annual player exception
His friendship with Dwight Howard and the memories of the success they experienced on the AAU Atlanta Celtics in high school
A return to his preferred power forward role
A team positioned to make the playoffs as a high seed
A system he should fit in much better than Detroit and arguably better than any of the other teams vying for his services
Houston already has a relationship with Smith having been a key player in the sweepstakes to land him in the summer of 2013

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With Smith having formalized his decision we can now begin the process of dissecting and analyzing how his addition will impact the Rockets moving forward.

To that end, let’s break it down:

Smith’s best years were at Power Forward:

Could Smith’s struggles in Detroit be simplified to him playing out of position at the small forward or with a young team? Looking at Smith’s best years he excelled in Atlanta as a power forward with a team not dissimilar to the 2014-15 Rockets.

Drafted by Atlanta he played 9-seasons there and went to the playoffs 6-straight years from 2007-8 through to 2012-13. During his time in Atlanta the core group featured Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Marvin Williams, Jamal Crawford with bigs Jason Collins and Zaza Pachulia.

Examining those Hawks the team featured a solid front court of rim protection and size on the wings with capable three-point shooters who spread the floor. This version of the Hawks were one of the better defensive units in the league who had size, quickness and spread the floor with the number of shooters they could put on the court at any given time.

During his tenure as a Hawk, Smith was a stat machine often boasting double-doubles and filling intangible categories like steals and blocks. When he became a free agent it was those factors which made him a coveted asset.