Joseph Leynard Smith is an American former professional basketball player who last played
at power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA.
Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, Smith was the College Player of the Year at Maryland
in 1995 and the No. 1 pick of that season's NBA Draft, picked by the Golden State Warriors.
He was named to the 1995–96 All-Rookie team.
Smith was mobile throughout his career, the NBA indicated that he was one of the most
traded players.
In 1998, Smith was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers; he then played for the Minnesota Timberwolves
until 2003.
He later played for the Milwaukee Bucks, the Denver Nuggets, the 76ers again, the Chicago
Bulls, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Atlanta Hawks, the New Jersey
Nets, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
NBA career Golden State Warriors
Smith attended Maury High School and played at the University of Maryland.
In the 1995 NBA Draft, Smith was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the first
overall pick, before fellow power forwards Kevin Garnett, Antonio McDyess and Rasheed
Wallace, as well as guard Jerry Stackhouse. Smith was named to the NBA All-Rookie First
Team for the 1995–96 season and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to
Damon Stoudamire.
Joe Smith would play two-and-a-half years for the Warriors before being traded to the
Philadelphia 76ers midway through the 1997–98 season.
The trade was engineered by Golden State as Smith had made clear his desire to return
to the east coast, and he was approaching free agency.
In exchange, the Warriors received Clarence Weatherspoon, Jim Jackson, and Brian Shaw.
Smith's statistics declined immediately after the trade, and never fully recovered.
Minnesota Timberwolves Despite a drop in production, Smith was seen
still as a hot commodity in the free agency blitz that followed the strike in late 1998.
In what seemed at the time like a bizarre move, Smith signed for very little money with
the Minnesota Timberwolves.
For the next two years, Smith played very productively at small forward alongside All-Star
Kevin Garnett.
Timberwolves salary cap scandal Following the 1999–2000 season, it was discovered
that Smith was involved in a salary cap–tampering scandal involving Timberwolves executive Kevin
McHale. Smith was allegedly promised a future multi-million dollar deal if he signed with
the team for below market value, allowing the team to make some additional player moves
in the short term.
The league later found out about this violation and voided the last year of the contract,
also severely punishing the Timberwolves by taking away five first-round draft picks and
fining the team $3.5 million.
The move hurt the Timberwolves in the long run, as while the team still found success,
the lack of draft picks set the team up for their eventual failure in the mid-2000s.
Detroit Pistons Joe Smith was released by the Timberwolves
and signed with the Detroit Pistons for the 2000–2001 season as a backup.
Smith produced very good numbers for the Pistons and, at the end of the season, he re-signed
with the Timberwolves where he played for two more seasons.
NBA journeyman For the next three seasons Smith played for
the Milwaukee Bucks.
Prior to the 2006–07 season, Smith moved on to the Nuggets, where he only played in
11 games before being traded, along with Andre Miller, back to the 76ers for Allen Iverson.
Despite being considered an add-in on the deal, Smith averaged over 25 minutes per game
with the 76ers, during the team's ultimately unsuccessful second half battle to make the
playoffs.
For the 2007–08 season, Smith signed with the Chicago Bulls.
Smith averaged over 11 points and 5 rebounds per game for the Bulls, but the team managed
only 33 wins the whole season.
Smith was traded in a three team deal at the trade deadline to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On August 13, 2008, Smith was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-team, six-player
deal involving the Thunder, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Cleveland Cavaliers that sent
Milwaukee's Mo Williams to Cleveland, Smith and Milwaukee's Desmond Mason to Oklahoma
City, and Cleveland's Damon Jones and Oklahoma City's Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin to
Milwaukee.
The Thunder traded Smith to the New Orleans Hornets along with Chris Wilcox and draft
rights to Devon Hardin on February 17, 2009 for Tyson Chandler but on February 18, 2009
the trade was rescinded after Tyson Chandler failed a physical with Oklahoma City.
On March 1, 2009, the Thunder bought out the remainder of Smith's contract and released
him.
Two nights later, he agreed to terms to rejoin the Cavaliers.
On August 25, 2009, he signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks.
On March 17, 2010, Smith became the 92nd player in NBA history to reach 1000 games played,
in a victory over the New Jersey Nets.
On September 10, 2010, Smith signed a deal with the New Jersey Nets.
On December 15, 2010, Smith was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three team trade
involving the Nets and Houston Rockets.
On January 2, 2011, Smith made his debut for the Lakers.
Two days later, he scored his first points as a member of the team.
NBA career statistics Regular season
Playoffs Highlights
Was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1995–96 after being chosen first overall
in the 1995 NBA Draft.
In 1995, was named National Collegiate Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club, the
Associated Press, United Press International, Basketball America and Eastern Basketball.
Portrayed Connie Hawkins in the movie Rebound.
He shares the record for the most franchises played for in an NBA career.
He played for 12 out of 30 franchises in the NBA.
Music career Smith has recorded a solo rap album under
the pseudonym "Joe Beast".
Included on the album are tracks titled "Murda Kapital" and "I Does This".
See also List of National Basketball Association players
with 1000 games played References
External links TheDraftReview.com – Smith's NBA Draft History
Page NBA.com Profile – Joe Smith