Josh Smith Picks the Clippers, Continues Their Good (Lucky?) Offseason

Josh Smith, the power forward who has played in Atlanta, Detroit and Houston in the last three season, is heading to the Clippers next year  according to Real GM, in a mild surprise that strengthens the Los Angeles bench.

It’s actually quite amazing what Doc Rivers has pulled off in the last 2+ weeks, given his Clippers went into the summer with little cap room:

1) Traded for Lance Stephenson of Charlotte, a risk-reward gamble that has a “smart low buy” feel to it
2) Convinced Paul Pierce to take less money next season than Washington was offering, giving them a clutch wing shooter to go with JJ Redick
3) Amazingly retained DeAndre Jordan after he told the Mavericks he was going there
4) Have added a very valuable reserve in Josh Smith to strengthen the bench

The Clippers were a 4th quarter away from the Western Conference Finals before collapsing against Houston, a series in which Smith was playing 20 minutes a game for the Rockets and averaged 9.7 ppg. In an ironic twist, Smith had his best game in the memorable game six rally, finishing with 19 points. He scored 15 points in the decisive game seven.

Smith had a better series against the Warriors in the WCF: 14.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, but only shot 39% from the field. He did hit 40% of his 3-pointers.

The Clippers rotation now looks something like this:

PG – CP3, Austin Rivers
SG – Redick, Stephenson, CJ Wilcox
SF – Pierce, Branden Dawson, Wesley Johnson
PF – Griffin, Josh Smith
C – DeAndre Jordan, Cole Aldrich

This probably solidifies the Clippers as the 4th best team in the West, behind the Warriors, Spurs and Thunder, but ahead of the Rockets and Grizzlies.