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Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Josh Smith is a free agent. He’s coming off a turbulent season in which he was first waived by the Detroit Pistons, then picked up by the Houston Rockets, with whom he rejuvenated his career.

Now the question is: Where does he go next?

The answer is complicated by a couple of things. First, which version of Smith would a new team be getting? The one who shot 24.3 percent from three for the Pistons, or the one who shot 33.0 percent for Houston? The one who bore the brunt of criticism for Detroit’s horrible start, or the one who helped Houston to the Western Conference Finals?

The other factor relates to the complications of his salary structure.

When they waived him, the Pistons used their stretch provision. That means they could get back a portion of what he makes in a new contract. According to Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ:

If another team signs a player who has cleared waivers, the player's original team is allowed to reduce the amount of money it still owes the player (and lower their team salary) by a commensurate amount. This is called the right of set-off. This is true if the player signs with any professional team -- it does not have to be an NBA team. The amount the original team gets to set off is limited to one-half the difference between the player's new salary and the minimum salary for a one-year veteran (if the player is a rookie, then the rookie minimum is used instead).

The minimum veteran’s salary for the 2015-16 season is $816,482. The Pistons owe Smith $5,400,000 this year, as noted by Spotrac.

So, if someone paid Smith the mid-level exception, which is $5,464,000 this year, he would get to keep all of that. However, the money Detroit gave him would be “set off” by half the difference between his new check and the minimum, which is $2,323,759. So Detroit would have to give him a total of $3,076, 241. In all, his pay for the year would be the sum of his new salary and what the Pistons paid him, or $8,540,241.

By comparison, if they use their non-Bird exception, all the Rockets can pay Smith is $2,492,400. Because he’s making less money, the set-off is smaller: $837,959. That means Detroit would still have to pay him $4,562,042. Smith’s total income would be $7,054,442.

Ergo, teams competing with Houston to steal him away must essentially offer him two dollars for every dollar increase of actual pay. And that might make him more reluctant to leave. He would probably bolt Houston for an extra $5 million, but would he for an extra million?

That might make teams reluctant to devote resources to recruiting him, particularly considering the other risks involved.

That said, there are some teams who have shown interest. And there are a few more that should show interest, but there isn’t a record of their doing so.

These are the best landing spots—whether they’ve been rumored or not—for Smith based on need and fit.