On Monday, the Detroit Pistons stunned the NBA when they decided to waive Josh Smith. The forward had two years and $26 million remaining on his contract, but management wanted to move in a different direction.
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With Smith expected to clear waivers late Wednesday unless the Philadelphia 76ers make a claim, Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Smith will sign with the Houston Rockets:
Josh Smith has committed to signing with the Houston Rockets, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. He clears waivers at 5 PM today.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 24, 2014
After Smith was surprisingly waived on Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers were one of many teams interested in the forward. While the Lakers had the most money to offer Smith with the Steve Nash disabled player exception, the Rockets and Kings were considered the frontrunners for his services.
Smith will be joining a championship contender in the Rockets and his addition will make the Western Conference that much tougher. The current eight teams in the Western Conference have won at least 16 games and are within a game each of moving up or down the standings.
In 28 games for the Pistons, Smith averaged 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 32.0 minutes.
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