It's possible, albeit unlikely, that Christmas will come a day early for a contender hoping to land a piece to put them over the edge. Josh Smith, shockingly waived by the Detroit Pistons on Monday despite having two years and $27 million remaining on his contract, officially clears waivers at 5 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve.
Assuming he goes unclaimed—a near-guarantee given only the tanking rebuilding Sixers have the cap space to add his $13.5 million cap hold—he'll have no shortage of suitors. ESPN's Chris Broussard reported "nearly every" playoff contender, with the exception of Smith's former stomping grounds in Atlanta, has reached out to Smith's representatives.
The Rockets are widely seen as the front-runner given Smith's closer relationship with Dwight Howard and the biannual exception giving them a financial leg up on teams only offering the minimum. But it nevertheless is why anyone remotely close to the title picture would kick the tires.
Whatever his decision-making and personality issues, Smith will be by far the best buyout/midseason release guy on th ...
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Article written by Tyler Conway