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Originally posted by <b>shonin</b>!
I've never even heard of Joe Smith before, but I watched the Bucks vrs Cavs game tonight and he's a pretty talented PF. I wouldn't be surprised if he became one of the better PFs in the East in time to come.
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You sure you haven't heard of him? He was involved in one of the bigger scandals that I've ever heard of in the NBA 4-5 years back (not to mention he played at a college pretty close to us).
Smith came out of Maryland and was the first overall draft pick back in '95. He had a couple very productive years in Golden State before being traded to Philly, where he didn't do much until he became a FA. He then signed with Minnesota for a very low contract, below his market value. Apparently behind the scenes, he and the Wolves formed an agreement that he would sign with them for a smaller contract for a year, then they would pay him handsomely the next season when they'd be able to offer him more. However, rather than do this verbally as most of these deals went, they actually made out a written agreement. The league found out about it, immediately voided Smith's current contract with the Wolves, suspended the Wolves' GM for a year, and took away their first round draft picks for the next five years or so. He spent the next season in Detroit before signing back on with the Wolves the next season. After a couple years there, he got traded in this past offseason to the Bucks in the Sam Cassell deal. He's always been a solid pro, never a superstar, never living up to his draft status as the first overall pick, but still a good player.
That's Joe Smith in a nutshell.
(There's a strong chance I got something not quite right in recapping Smith's career, but I did it all from memory, so forgive me).
Joe Who?
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