The Hornets waived Smith on Thursday.
The Hornets needed to waive a few players in order to make room for their deadline acquisitions, and Smith ended up being a roster casualty along with Frank Ntilikina (hip) and James Bouknight. Smith averaged 3.2 points, 3.4 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game across 43 appearances (five starts) for Charlotte in 2023-24.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Heads to bench
Rotowire
Smith isn't in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Raptors.
Cody Martin will replace Smith in the starting lineup Wednesday. Smith is averaging 1.4 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 15.2 minutes across his previous five appearances coming off the bench this season.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Will start Sunday
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Smith will start Sunday's game against the Pacers, Sam Perley of the Hornets' official site reports.
With Cody Martin (knee) joining LaMelo Ball (ankle) and Gordon Hayward (calf) on the sidelines, Smith will start at point guard. In three previous starts this season, Smith has averaged 4.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists in 28.0 minutes per game.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Won't start Monday
Rotowire
Smith won't start Monday's game against the Knicks, Sam Perley of the Hornets' official site reports.
With LaMelo Ball (ankle) sidelined, Smith drew a spot start Saturday and dished out 12 assists. Ball remains out Monday, but Smith will be replaced in the starting lineup by P.J. Washington, who exploded for a season-high 43 points in the loss to Utah. Smith should still see a sizable role off the bench in Ball's absence.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Hands out 12 assists in loss
Rotowire
Smith finished with zero points (0-5 FG), three rebounds, 12 assists and one steal in 29 minutes during Saturday's 134-122 loss to Utah.
Smith moved into the starting lineup Saturday, filling in for LaMelo Ball, who was out for the second half of Charlotte's back-to-back set due to injury maintenance. Despite failing to score, Smith delivered a season-high 12 assists, rewarding anyone who streamed him in for that purpose. Unless Ball is slated to miss further time, Smith holds no real value outside of periodic situations such as this.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Enters first unit
Rotowire
Smith will start Saturday's game against the Jazz.
Smith will take the place of LaMelo Ball (ankle) in the first five for his third start of the season. In his other two games with the starters, Smith averaged 7.0 points, 6.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds across 27.5 minutes.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Limited role continues
Rotowire
Smith amassed six points (3-3 FG), one rebound, one assist and two steals across 11 minutes during Monday's 128-125 victory over Minnesota.
Smith played fewer than 15 minutes for the fourth time in the past five games, continuing to be used sparingly by the Hornets. With LaMelo Ball healthy, Smith has shifted into a minor role, putting a cap on his already limited fantasy value. Based on the current rotation, Smith holds very little value outside of deep leagues.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Moves to second unit
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Smith will come off the bench for Tuesday's game versus the Kings, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports.
Terry Rozier (illness) is back in the starting five after a one-game absence, and Smith will reprise his role as the backup point guard as a result. During his spot start Monday against Denver, Smith had 10 points, four assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Draws spot start
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Smith is starting at point guard Monday against the Nuggets, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports.
Smith will move into the starting lineup with Terry Rozier missing Monday's action due to illness. Smith's last start took place Dec. 23, also against the Nuggets, when he logged four points, three rebounds and eight assists in 26 minutes.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Back to bench
Rotowire
Smith will come off the bench for Tuesday's game against the Clippers.
Terry Rozier is back with the starters after missing one game with a knee issue. While filling in for Rozier on Saturday versus Denver, Smith had four points, eight assists, three rebounds and two turnovers in 24 minutes.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Starting against Denver
Rotowire
Smith is in the starting lineup to face the Nuggets on Saturday.
With Terry Rozier (knee) out, Smith will get the nod at point guard. Smith will make his first start of the season and is averaging 3.6 points with 2.8 assists per game in the campaign.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Dishes out six dimes in loss
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Smith closed with four points (2-3 FG) and six assists across 16 minutes during Wednesday's 144-113 loss to the Pacers.
Smith recorded a season-high six assists during Wednesday's loss. The veteran point guard has yet to score double-digit points while being Charlotte's primary backup point guard. Smith is averaging 3.6 points, 2.8 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 16.2 minutes across 20 appearances this season.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Invisible off bench
Rotowire
Smith contributed four points (2-3 FG), one rebound and one assist in 14 minutes during Tuesday's 115-91 loss to the Knicks.
Smith played just 14 minutes in the loss, a little underwhelming given the recent injury to LaMelo Ball (ankle). Ball is likely to miss multiple weeks, meaning there are going to be more minutes available to both Smith and Bryce McGowens. While this was a poor performance, Smith might be able to have limited value as an assists streamer, at least for the next few weeks.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Modest role
Rotowire
Smith has appeared in four games and is averaging 1.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 steals in 12.3 minutes since making his season debut Nov. 5.
Tuesday's game was Smith's season high in minutes (19) and his third consecutive game (disregarding a DNP on Nov. 10) in which he played at least 10 minutes. As Terry Rozier (groin), Frank Ntilikina (leg) and James Bouknight (knee) all recover from their respective injuries, Smith should continue to see extended playing time.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Good to go against Indiana
Rotowire
Smith (coditioning) isn't on the injury report for Saturday's game versus the Pacers.
Smith will be available to make his season debut for Charlotte after missing time while returning to competitive conditioning. The veteran point guard could receive backup minutes behind LaMelo Ball in the backcourt.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Still out against Houston
Rotowire
Smith won't play in Wednesday's game versus the Rockets due to return to competition reconditioning.
Smith has yet to play for the Hornets after signing with the team just ahead of Opening Night. The veteran guard's next chance to suit up is Saturday's matchup with Indiana.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Won't play Wednesday
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Smith (coach's decision) won't play in Wednesday's regular-season opener against the Hawks, Josh Robbins of The Athletic reports.
Smith is healthy, but he won't be part of the Opening Night rotation. In his absence, Theo Maledon and rookie Nick Smith are candidates for minutes behind LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier.
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Hornets' Ish Smith: Signs with Hornets
Rotowire
Smith signed a contract and joined Charlotte's active roster Tuesday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Smith fills a sudden backup point guard need in Charlotte, as Frank Ntilikina (leg fracture) is set to miss at least a month. The 35-year-old returns to Charlotte for his second stint with the franchise and will split backcourt bench minutes with rookie Nick Smith.
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Nuggets' Ish Smith: Has nine dimes in victory
Rotowire
Smith had zero points (0-3 FG, 0-3 3Pt), two rebounds, nine assists and one steal over 23 minutes during Sunday's 109-95 victory over Sacramento.
Smith tallied a season-high nine assists in the win, eclipsing 20 minutes for the second time in the past three games. Unfortunately, he failed to score, souring what could have been a productive outing. Heading into the playoffs, Smith is likely to be used as a depth piece should the team fall foul of the whistle.
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Nuggets' Ish Smith: Plays 15 minutes Friday
Rotowire
Smith chipped in two points (1-10 FG, 0-2 3Pt), three rebounds, four assists and one block in 15 minutes during Friday's 100-93 loss to Phoenix.
With numerous regulars sidelined, Smith saw his most playing time since Feb. 15. He struggled mightily from the field and committed two turnovers in limited action, but he did dish out four assists. Denver is expected to be back to full strength Tuesday in Houston, so Smith figures to revert to an end-of-bench role for the Nuggets, assuming that's the case moving forward.
