Oh, to be Josh Smith.
First, he was unceremoniously told to go home by Stan Van Gundy and the Detroit Pistons during the middle of a season. They literally paid him to go home and stay away from the team.
And after spending the rest of the regular season and playoffs with the Houston Rockets, Smith found himself with few suitors on the free agent market. Until the Los Angeles Clippers swooped in to sign the talented forward, that is.
Unfortunately for Smith, though, his new deal was for the veteran’s minimum – a measly $1.5 million.
$1.5 million. That’s all. How can someone survive on making that chump change? It’s a question Mr. Smith is asking himself these days. He mentioned the sacrifice he is making to become a Clipper during his introductory press conference.
Here’s J-Smoove courtesy of the Detroit Free Press’ David Whitley:
“At the end of the day, you know, I do have a family,” he said. “So it is going to be a little harder on me this year. But I’m going to push through it, you know.”
Good for you, Josh Smith.
Now would be the time to mention Smith was paid $ 13.5 million in the 2014-2015 season. And due to the Pistons using the stretch provision to waive him, which allows a team to cut a player and spread the owed money on their contract over multiple seasons, he will earn $5.4 million from Detroit over each of the next five seasons. Let’s see: $5.4 million from the Pistons plus $1.5 million from the Clippers equals $6.9 million, the total salary Smith will be making for the upcoming season. So while everyone agrees the L.A. lifestyle isn’t cheap, and the taxes are indeed high, there is little reason to believe Smith will be in front of Staples Center before games begging for change.
Even if the $6.9 million isn’t enough, he has made a decent amount of money throughout his career – about $91 million dollars, according to the Free Press.
Let’s hope Clippers fans and the team rallies around Smith to help him cope during his financial hardship this upcoming season. Maybe Chris Paul can give him some high fives to give him a boost once in awhile. Of course, Smith could also go to his new teammate DeAndre Jordan for a loan, with his new contract and all, or just for advice.
Who better than Jordan to help figure things out?
(Via The Detroit Free Press)
