DETROIT -- Joe Smith, declared a free agent for signing an
illegal secret contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, accepted a
one-year contract Monday from the Detroit Pistons.
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Smith agreed to a $2.25 million deal with Detroit for the rest
of the season. Had he re-signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he
would have been able to make a maximum of $611,000.
"We are very excited to have Joe Smith choose the Pistons,"
general manager Joe Dumars said in a statement. "We are committed
to building this team the right way, and to have Smith select
Detroit as his home is an endorsement of that."
Signing Smith, who has averaged a career 14.5 points per game,
is a step toward rebuilding the team after Grant Hill's departure
as a free agent to Orlando. Last season with the Timberwolves,
Smith averaged 9.9 points per game.
Smith rejected overtures from the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat,
who each could have offered him more than $3.9 million for this
season. He also was courted by the Dallas Mavericks, and at one
point last Friday was close to re-signing with the Timberwolves.
After taking the weekend to reconsider his options, Smith chose
Detroit. The Pistons said Smith would join the team later this
week.
Detroit was 4-7 after a loss to Charlotte Sunday night.
"We are very happy to be able to add another versatile player
to our team," Pistons coach George Irvine said. "I can see him
playing with a big lineup, I can see him playing power forward a
great deal of the time, and on some occasions I can see him playing
center."
Smith was unavailable for comment, with the Pistons expected to call a news
conference later in the week to introduce their new star.
"He hasn't been playing," Irvine said. "I certainly don't
want to put him out there if he is not in game condition."
Minnesota signed Smith to a free-agent contract in 1999, with
the secret promise of $86 million over seven years after that, a
salary cap violation.
The NBA punished the Timberwolves by taking away their next five
first-round draft picks and fining them $3.5 million, a league
record.
NBA commissioner David Stern also voided Smith's contract for
this season and the previous two seasons, taking away the so-called
Larry Bird rights that would have allowed the Wolves to sign Smith
to a multimillion-dollar contract next season.
On Friday, Smith was prepared to re-sign with Minnesota and
appeal arbitrator Kenneth Dam's ruling that upheld Stern's decision
to nullify his last two contracts, Smith's agent, Dan Fegan, told
the Detroit News.
But, according to Fegan, Stern threatened to challenge the
portion of Dam's ruling that empowered Smith to re-sign with
Minnesota, a move that could have moved the case into court and
kept Smith off the basketball court indefinitely.
"At the prospect of further litigation, Joe realized the NBA
was going to fight this all the way," Fegan told the News. "At
that point, he weighed his other options and chose Detroit."
With the absence of Hill, Jerry Stackhouse has been the focal
point in the team's defense. Now, Stackhouse will have some
support.
"I think it's a great choice," Stackhouse said. "He's going
to be a great addition to our team. In no way are we trying to put
it on him to be the savior, but we feel we are on the right path."
The addition of Smith will certainly help the Pistons' chances
of reaching the playoffs. His ability to score could give
Stackhouse more room on offense.
"We're going to try to use him to initiate offense, and I think
that's going to be a plus for him, and for myself," Stackhouse
said.
In other moves, the Pistons waived forward Torraye Braggs and
placed forward Billy Owens on the injured list.
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ALSO SEE
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May: League made sure Smith left town
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Smith leaving T-Wolves? Arbitrator paves way
AUDIO VIDEO
 Pistons' head coach George Irvine feels Joe Smith's work ethic was a drawing factor for the team.
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