Why The Washington Wizards Should Hire Al Harrington As Assistant Coach by Ben Mehic

The Washington Wizards have 15 guaranteed contracts on the books for this upcoming NBA season — the most allowed by the league — but they’ll continue to invite players to their training camp this month.

Recently, both Toure’ Murry — an NBA veteran who spent 10 days with the Washington Wizards this past season — and undrafted rookie Jaleel Roberts accepted camp invites from Ernie Grunfeld and Co.

Since the Wizards have 15 players with guaranteed deals, finding players that will take camp invitations might be tough. Dez Wells, who will join the Oklahoma City Thunder for camp after spending time in D.C. this summer, has opted to decline Washington’s invitation.

However, it looks like some NBA vets are still optimistic about their chances of making the Wizards’ roster.

According to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, guard Ish Smith will be joining the Washington Wizards for training camp:

The #Wizards have signed Ish Smith and Toure' Murry to non-guaranteed deals with training camp invites. — Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) September 8, 2015

In five years, Ish Smith has suited up for the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Needless to say, Smith has become a journeyman.

In those five years, Smith has averaged just under 4 points and 3 assists per game. While his numbers obviously don’t jump off the screen, Smith does have some skills that could be valuable to a team like Washington.

When people think of fast point guards, the likes of Derrick Rose, John Wall and Russell Westbrook are almost immediately mentioned. Smith, though, might be the quickest guard in the league, according to future Wizard Kevin Durant.

Ish smith or John wall RT @WNP_1: @KDTrey5 who's the fastest NBA player?! — Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) January 23, 2014

The Wizards will apparently continue to play small-ball, which should, in theory, increase their pace of play.

With Wall on the floor, the Washington Wizards should play up-tempo basketball. There should be no reason to slow it down and play in the half-court with the quickest player in the league on your side.

Smith would add quickness to the table, which is something the Wizards lacked off the bench for most of the year with Andre Miller controlling the second unit.

Ramon Sessions did give the team speed, but besides him, Washington doesn’t have any other backup point guard. Garrett Temple has played the position in spurts, but he’s not capable of running a team like Sessions or Smith.

For Smith to get a spot on the team, he’ll have to look really impressive during training camp and preseason. Again, the Wizards have 15 players under guaranteed contracts, and for them to clear room, they would need to either find a trade or waive a player.

Temple has been linked to the Utah Jazz this summer, so if the Wizards do end up completing a deal, Smith might find himself in a Wizards uniform this upcoming season. Otherwise, he’ll take this opportunity to audition for other teams.

While the Wizards might not give him a spot, there will be other teams around the league that are looking for quick guards. For instance, Will Bynum got a chance to play for Washington right before the playoffs began this past season. Smith might find himself in a similar situation.

It’ll be interesting to see who else the Washington Wizards will bring to camp, but Smith is somewhat of an intriguing name. Like the rest of the invitees, Smith’s chances of making the team are very low.