PHOENIX — About 90 minutes before tipoff, Sixers coach Brett Brown said he had yet to see Ish Smith.
An hour before Saturday's game, Smith was spotted courtside going over plays on a laptop with a member of the coaching staff.
At tipoff, Smith was not only playing, but starting against the Phoenix Suns.
“You shake his hand, you welcome him back and you start him,” Brown said.
The Sixers may lack wins, but they’ve made plenty of news. Saturday also marked Mike D’Antoni’s debut as associate head coach. New chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo addressed the team for the first time at the morning shootaround.
Acquired in a trade with New Orleans on Thursday, Smith arrived in Phoenix Saturday afternoon — after shootaround was over — and was quickly identified as the best option in a struggling, turnover-filled backcourt.
“I’m excited to be back with the guys,” Smith said while walking briskly from the court to the locker room about 45 minutes before the game. “I’m a little nervous because it still is new. I just came from another team.”
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All of this could have been a lot easier if Smith was re-signed after a successful 25-game stint to end last season. He meshed with big man Nerlens Noel, averaged 12 points and 6.1 assists, and the Sixers even won some games.
But GM Sam Hinkie declined to bring back Smith. The speedy, 6-footer was in Washington’s training camp before getting waived. Smith ended up with the Pelicans, and averaged 8.9 points and 5.7 assists in 27 games.
But New Orleans had a glut of ball handlers, and the 27-year-old was dealt on Christmas Eve for a pair of second-round draft picks.
“I’m never shocked with anything in my career,” Smith said when asked if he was surprised he didn’t stay with the Sixers last summer.
“Everything happens for a reason. Who knows if I would have just stayed here or whatnot? I’m happy it’s worked out this way. I’m going to have fun with it.”
Smith immediately went ahead of Kendall Marshall and T.J. McConnell, taking over the playmaking for a team that entered having committed at least 20 turnovers in three straight games and six of 11.
“He’s got live legs,” Brown said of Smith. “There’s a pace that he plays with. There’s a reliability from a turnover standpoint that he is respected for around the league. All those things are what we need.”
The player happiest to have Smith back may be the struggling Noel, the recipient of countless alley-oop passes last spring. Noel saw Smith doing an interview in the tunnel before the game, and promptly ran up and hugged him.
“We know what he’s capable of,” Noel said. “I think he’s going to be bring it back to this team. He’s a fast point guard that’s able to get to the rim and create for others.”
While Smith returned, the Sixers were without rookie Jahlil Okafor, who rested his sore right knee as a precaution (see story). Brown moved Noel to center and started Jerami Grant at power forward.