Pistons get speed, athleticism with Ish Smith
Orlando, Fla. — The Pistons didn’t waste a lot of time in wooing point guard Ish Smith from the Philadelphia 76ers. Just after the opening of free agency, the Pistons had begun negotiations and within a few hours, they had a deal in place.
Smith and the Pistons agreed to a reported three-year, $18-million deal to back up Reggie Jackson. It’s a relative bargain, considering some of the other top options at point guard were upwards of $9 million per season.
What Smith brings to the Pistons is speed and athleticism, which matches with the desired style of their reserve group.
Marcus Morris, who was a teammate of Smith’s in Phoenix in 2013-14, sees the Smith deal as a step forward in upgrading the roster.
“You could put any (four) guys around Ish and he can make them look good. We definitely have a bench that’s coming along and by adding him, our bench goes up,” Morris said Friday. “He’s a great guy and I don’t see what you can’t love about him; great teammate and he makes guys look good — that’s all you can ask for.”
With a reserve group that could include Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock and Aron Bayes, as well as Morris or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at times, the need for a point guard to push the pace and be a distributor trumped some of the need for a better shooter.
Smith averaged 14.7 points and 7.0 assists last season in 50 games in a starting role with the Sixers, playing about 32 minutes per game. Given the Sixers’ miserable season, Smith could be just as productive in about half the minutes, playing behind Jackson.
The outlook is that he’ll be an upgrade over 36-year-old Steve Blake, who struggled at times to keep up with younger, quicker backup point guard.
“There are a lot of assets that he brings: he defends very well, he’s very active and only a few guys in the league can push the pace as fast as he does,” Morris said. “One of the biggest things is he’s a great teammate and I’ve been around Ish maybe two years in Phoenix and he’s a great dude; I never had a better teammate.
“It’s a great fit and I think we got a whole lot better with adding Ish.”
For Smith, the deal brings financial security that he hasn’t known in his career, as the Pistons will be his 10th team in seven seasons. He looked to be growing roots and making a case for a long-term deal in Philadelphia, but the Pistons moved quickly and made him a deal that was difficult to pass up.
After his first stint with the Sixers, Smith thought he was in line for a bigger contract last summer, but never received an offer from them. This time, he took the sure thing.
Tough news
Associate coach Bob Beyer is having to make some last-minute adjustments after second-year guard Darrun Hilliard was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back on Thursday. Hilliard will miss the entire summer-league schedule and his recovery time in uncertain.
It was tough news because Hilliard was expected to be a major contributor this summer and even in the regular season.
“I’m really hurting for Darrun Hilliard — that was my first thought because he has worked so hard to get ready for this moment,” Beyer said. “He committed to being in Detroit; he had great workouts with (assistant coach) Charles Klask and he was ready for a really big summer league.”
With Hilliard’s injury, Beyer had planned to move Lorenzo Brown to point guard and put rookie Michael Gbinije at shooting guard. But he changed his mind and decided to leave Gbinije at point guard and switch both players between the two guard positions.
So far, Gbinije and first-round pick Henry Ellenson have adjusted well, according to Beyer, but they’ll have a better indication with Saturday’s summer league opener against the Knicks.
PISTONS VS. KNICKS
Tipoff: Saturday, 3 p.m., Amway Center, Orlando, Fla.
TV: NBATV
Notable: Each of the 10 teams will play a five-game schedule, with 10-minute quarters, and will accumulate points in the standings to determine the seeding for the championship round on July 8.
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter @detnewsRodBeard