Orlando Magic to Sign Ish Smith from NBA D-League, According to Report

I mean…. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH.

When I first saw this headline, I thought it was a new nickname for Otis Smith. It would be fitting when describing his GM skills.

Maybe this guy can at least bring the ball up the floor for us.

According to multiple twitter sources Larry Hughes has been/will be released. His contract becomes fully guaranteed Feb 10

As if you couldn’t have guessed

That is a really obnoxious spelling.

One of the quickest players in college basketball, the thorn in Ishmael Smith’s side has always been his shooting ability, converting a very poor 49% from the free-throw line this past season, a number nearly unheard of for a point guard. He likewise shot poorly from the field, at 22% from the three-point line with just a 44% True Shooting percentage. Coming into pre-draft training, Smith was well aware that he needed to fix his shot to have a chance in the NBA, and he’s come here humbled and hard working, doing everything he can to improve.

In drills, things looked good for Smith early on, with him hitting 15-for-20 spot-up jumpers from the 15 foot range at one point, but as fatigue set in later in the workout, the results weren’t as good, and he struggled to maintain consistency. Reading too much into these results just three days into the training probably won’t yield many useful insights, as it’s incredibly difficult to make so many changes in such a short period of time. The important thing to note is Smith is clearly putting in the work and understands what he needs to do to improve, even if it could be a very long process. A long-shot to be drafted at this stage, Smith should have chances at finding a way into the NBA this summer or down the road, and how he improves as a shooter will be critical in increasing those chances.

Joseph Treutlein DraftExpress

I watched a lot of Smith’s games at Wake Forest last season, and caught a couple of his NBA starts. When the Rockets were in New York last week I got a chance to see him in person, and every time I’ve been impressed. Smith’s game is perfect for today’s NBA. He is a lightning-quick ball handler who can get to the rim in the blink of an eye. He’s not much of a scorer, but he has incredible vision and senses passing lanes before they appear. Whether it’s with the Rockets or not, if he gets PT in the League, he will make an impact.

Dime – Austin Burton

Tiny speedster who can push tempo and break down defense…Poor shooter… Needs to improve decisions and distribution from point….Size leaves him vulnerable defensively. Needs to add strength to compensate.

…Smith is both small and a poor shooter, and he struggled to take advantage of the creases he zipped through before a big man came to close it down. Even at the rim, he shot under 40 percent; a player like this needs to generate multiple layups with his speed to offset the other weaknesses, but Smith couldn’t do it.

Smith didn’t win raves for his distribution, either, but he penetrates well enough to inevitably create some open shots for others. The key is whether he can get anything on his own: 9.1 points per 40 minutes on 37.4 percent shooting is pathetic, and it’s tough to envision him as more than a third-string point guard unless those numbers improve

If we are already paying him, wouldn’t have been better to keep him for situations like this? Yeah, Arenas sucks but even that is better than a D league player or Larry Hughes.

Says something about our team. Everyone is desperately clinging to any change hoping it’ll right the ship

Can’t stand watching Duhon take 10-15 seconds to get into the offense.