Three reasons the Ish Smith signing was good for the Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons avoided marquee free agent point guards like Jeremy Lin and Matthew Dellavedova, instead opting to sign former 76er Ish Smith to a 3-year, $18 million deal. Here are three reasons they made the right choice.

1) Smith’s speed, athleticism and passing is exactly what Detroit’s second unit needs

Steve Blake made plenty of big shots for the Pistons last year, but I probably won’t remember any of them. What I’ll remember most, along with the 36-year-old going chest to chest with Isiah Canaan, is the sight of Old Man Blake failing to get open to receive an inbound pass in Game 3 of Detroit’s first-round matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Blake’s lack of athleticism made him nearly unplayable in that series, and no moment offered more proof than when he couldn’t shake Kyrie Irving–a star player, sure, but not one known for his suffocating defense.

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Smith is listed at only 6-foot, 175 pounds, but he’s fast and athletic, with the ability to get to the rack and finish. That alone will add another element to Detroit’s bench mob, whose struggles with ballhandling and penetration were part of the reason rookie Stanley Johnson dribbled himself into so many awful shots last season.

Yes, the Pistons will lose some 3-point shooting with the swap. But if Smith is able to manufacture open looks for Johnson and Reggie Bullock, as well as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris when they play with the bench unit, then that gap in 3-point shooting from Blake’s 34.4-percent to Smith’s 32.9-percent might not seem so large.

Blake is a wiley old vet, but Smith has been in the league six years and is certainly more poised and dependable than any point guard the Pistons could have picked up in the draft. He’s also great in transition. Picture Steve Blake running the floor after a Stanley Johnson steal. Now picture Ish Smith in his place. That upgrade should get Detroit fans excited about a second unit that’s ready to run.

According to Rod Beard of the Detroit News, Pistons forward Marcus Morris already is:

"“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.”"

2) Smith’s weaknesses won’t be as exaggerated in the second unit

In 2015-16, Smith averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 29.1 minutes per game for an abysmal 76ers team. He shot only 42.8 percent from the field and 69.3 percent at the line. He turned the ball over 2.1 times per game while playing what one Philadelphia fan referred to as “bullfighter defense.” In other words, his stats aren’t great, and he’s not exactly a defensive stopper. But it’s tough to take stats–good or bad–seriously from a team like Philly. What we do know is that he’ll be asked to do much less in Detroit as a backup to Reggie Jackson. And on the defensive end, you really can’t get much worse than Blake.

If you’re looking for stats, try this one: Philadelphia was 1-30 before trading for Smith in December 2015 and 9-42 the rest of the season, despite losing first-round pick Jahlil Okafor in early March. 9-42…that’s almost competent! All jokes aside, Smith did provide a boost of competency for a historically awful team–enough for Jeff Bower and Stan Van Gundy to believe he could do even more for a young Pistons squad on the brink of serious playoff contention.

3) His contract is a bargain

I mean, sure, you could argue that a few of these guys are better overall point guards than Smith. But Lin wanted to start, and I never bought into Dellavedova as a $10 million-per-year player, even with the rising cap. Smith is, at worst, a cheap and competent upgrade at backup point guard. At best, he’s a steal.

Next: Stanley Johnson still not backing down from LeBron James

Saving money on Reggie Jackson’s backup allows Bower and Van Gundy the cap space to chase other free agents. It’s already paid dividends as it enabled the Pistons to sign Jon Leuer and leaves a bit of cap space for future flexibility.