Joe Smith

At 48 years old, Joe Smith has this physical status:

Collegiate career

Smith played for Maryland for two seasons. Smith, a sophomore, averaged 20.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, and was selected to the AP NCAA All-America Team. Smith scored a career high 40 points and made a game winning tip in shot during a 94-92 victory over Duke on March 2, 1995.

NBA career

Smith was the first overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, ahead of fellow power forwards Kevin Garnett, Antonio McDyess, and Rasheed Wallace, as well as guard Jerry Stackhouse. Smith scored his highest single game point total of his rookie season in a 125-121 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on November 30, 1995. During a 110-102 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on January 20, 1996, Smith earned a career high 20 rebounds while also scoring 21 points. Smith was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team for the 1995–96 season and placed third in the Rookie of the Year poll to Damon Stoudamire and Arvydas Sabonis at the end of the year.

Smith will average 18.7 points per game this season, second on the team only to Latrell Sprewell's 24.2 points per game. In a 109-95 loss to the Vancouver Grizzlies on January 8, 1997, Smith scored a career-high 38 points. However, the Warriors will not return to the playoffs for the second season in a row, this time with a 30-52 record.

Smith would play two-and-a-half years for the Warriors before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers with Brian Shaw for Clarence Weatherspoon and Jim Jackson midway through the 1998–98 season. Smith had made it clear that he wanted to return to the east coast and was approaching free agency (halfway through the third year of his 3-year rookie contract). Smith was fired after a multi-year $80+ million contract with the Warriors. He earned $61 million over his career.

Despite a decrease in production, Smith was still seen as a hot commodity in the free agency blitz that followed the strike in 1998. Smith signed for very little money with the Minnesota Timberwolves, which seemed to be a strange move at the time. Smith continued to play well at small forward for the next two years. Also known as Kevin Garnett, Smith played with a huge smile.

Smith was involved in a salary cap-evading controversy involving Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and general manager Kevin McHale, which occurred in the 1999-2000 season. Smith was reportedly promised a multimillion-dollar contract if he signed with the team for less than market value, allowing the team to make some more player moves in the short term. Smith completed three one-year contracts for less than $3 million apiece, allowing the Timberwolves to keep his "Bird rights" and bypass the cap on re-signing him. Smith may have signed a new long-term deal that would have cost as much as $86 million at the end of his one-year deal.

When Smith's handler, Andrew Miller, left the sports marketing company headed by Eric Fleisher and retained Smith and Garnett as clients, the illicit deal came to an end. In discovery, a flourisher was sued, and the details of the illicit deal came to light. In reaction, NBA Commissioner David Stern severely disciplined the Timberwolves. Smith fined the team $3.5 million and ended all three short-term contracts—and with them, Smith's "Bird rights" were thrown out. Taylor was also forbidden from being involved in the Timberwolves' activities until August 31, 2001, and McHale was forced to take an unpaid leave of absence until July 31, 2001. Stern stripped the Timberwolves of their first-round draft picks in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 (though the 2003 and 2005 picks were eventually returned).

The Timberwolves still had success, culminating in 2004 as the Timberwolves had the best record in the Western Conference and advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

Joe Smith was cut by the Timberwolves and signed as a back for the Detroit Pistons in the 2000-01 season. Smith had good numbers for the Pistons throughout the season, but he re-signed with the Timberwolves, his former club, where he spent two seasons before the 2002-03 NBA season ended.

Smith and teammate Anthony Peeler were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2003 for Sam Cassell and Ervin Johnson. Smith spent three seasons with the Bucks. Smith averaged 13.2 points and ten rebounds per game during a 4-1 loss to the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Playoffs.

Smith was signed to Ruben Patterson in the 2006–07 season, where he appeared in 11 games before being traded, as well as Andre Miller, who was recalled to the 76ers for former teammate Allen Iverson. Despite being deemed an add-in on the deal, Smith played an average of 25 minutes per game with the 76ers during the team's ultimately unsuccessful second-half battle to make the playoffs. Smith signed with the Chicago Bulls in 2007-08 for the 2007–08 season. Smith averaged over 11 points and 5 rebounds per game for the Bulls, but the team managed only 33 victories on the season. Smith was traded in a three-team contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers before the trade deadline.

Smith was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-team, six-player contract involving Milwaukee's Mo Williams, Smith and Milwaukee's Desmond Mason, and Milwaukee's Damon Jones and Adrian Griffin were sent to Milwaukee, and Bo Williams was traded to Cleveland, Smith and Milwaukee's Desmond Mason, who sold Milwaukee's Mo Williams to Cleveland, Smith and Milwaukee's Desmond Mason, as well as Milwaukee's Duncan Griffin to Milwaukee.

On February 17, 2009, the Thunder traded Smith, Chris Wilcox, and draft rights to DeVon Hardin, but the contract was rescinded on February 18, 2009, after Chandler failed to conduct in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder purchased out the majority of Smith's employment and released him on March 1, 2009. He came to an agreement to rejoin the Cavaliers two nights later.

He signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks on August 25, 2009. In a victory over the New Jersey Nets on March 17, 2010, Smith became the 92nd player in NBA history to play 1,000 games.

Smith signed a New Jersey Nets contract on September 10, 2010.

Smith was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team trade involving the Nets and Houston Rockets on December 15, 2010. Smith made his Lakers debut on January 2, 2011. He scored his first points as a member of the team just two days later.

Coaching career

Smith began to practice with the Phoenix Suns on June 9, 2015 as someone to help out center Alex Len during practice. He was initially thought to be a candidate for one of the Suns' player development coaching positions, but he was not really qualified for the position.

Smith continues to teach in the greater Atlanta area with the help of CoachUp, a private coaching company.

Music career

Smith has released a solo rap album under the name 'Joe Beast.' The album includes songs entitled "Murda Kapital" and "I Does This." While Smith was playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tommy Switch and Lorin Roberts produced the album in Oklahoma City.

Source