Josh Smith Should Be The Starting Center For The Cleveland Cavaliers

Josh Smith is a low-risk, high-reward option for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Best case scenario, he becomes their starting center.

Josh Smith literally jumped into the NBA straight out of high school in 2004. In the era of prep-to-pro drafting, Smith was one of many NBA players who, at the time of being drafted, held a lot of promise. However, his potential was dampened by his immaturity.

Fast-forward 12 years from the 2004 draft and Smith has averaged 14.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field. These stats aren’t why Smith is a free agent. Smith is a tremendous athlete, and an aggressive rebounder and defender.

The reason Smith is still a free agent is because he shoots 63.2 percent from the free-throw line while drawing fouls on 33.3 percent of his shots. He also shoots 28.5 percent from the three-point line while threes have been at least 21.5 percent of his total shot attempts since 2013-2014. To put it in laymen’s terms, Smith’s shot selection is horrible because he doesn’t have the ability to consistently make the shots he takes.

Rather than try to be a stretch-four or emulate a player like Blake Griffin by trying to be a ball-handler up-and-down the court, Smith has to play within himself. When he sticks to being a finisher around the rim, crashing the boards, and playing focused and aggressive defense, Smith is a very solid NBA player. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, that’s all he’s need to do to succeed.

Though Tristan Thompson does an admirable job as an undersized center, one of the reasons he hasn’t been able to see much success as a rim-protector in the NBA is because he isn’t a quick or explosive leaper.

At 30, Smith still is one of the quickest leapers in the NBA. This has helped him force opponents to shoot 5.9 percent less on their field goals from six feet and in while mainly matched up against power forwards and centers.

Playing with the starters will make the game easier for Smith as Kyrie Irving and LeBron James are going to be able to find him for backdoor lobs consistently. Kevin Love will be able to launch outlet passes towards to players who can consistently finish above-the-rim in transition instead of just one.

The three-point shooting and spacing provided by Irving, Love, and (if re-signed) J.R. Smith will both deter Josh Smith from shooting many threes and open up space under-the-basket for him to convert with ease.

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Irving and Love are improving as defenders but are still susceptible to being beat off the dribble consistently. Though LeBron James is impressive as a weak side shot-blocker, Smith is a nominal center who can play in the middle of the paint. With his quick hands and feet he’s able to jump passing lanes or front bigger centers effectively.

Defensively, the Cavaliers will be better off with a proven rim-protector in Smith who is mobile enough to defend on the perimeter. Smith has the second most blocks and fifth most steals in Atlanta Hawks history.

Thompson should still receive a lion’s share of the minutes at center. He’s a starting quality center for many teams, but because he and Love both are inconsistent rim-protectors the Cavaliers will have to set a defensive tone in the paint with a different combination of frontcourt players in the starting unit. When looking at the Cleveland Cavaliers roster there’s no rim-protector.

It’s a low-risk, high-reward situation to take a look at Josh Smith and sign him to a one-year contract.

Disagree? Let us know in the comments section or follow and tweet us @KJG_NBA and Staff Writer Quenton Albertie @30for30albertie.