Joe Smith has played for nine teams in his 14 NBA seasons. Could his second stint with his eighth team lead to his first NBA Finals?

According to a report in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, the former No. 1 overall draft pick from 1995 may join the Cavaliers as early as Wednesday. Cleveland traded him last offseason to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-team deal that put Mo Williams on the Cavs.

Smith, who played 27 games for the Cavs last season, was originally acquired in a three-team, 11-player trade deadline-day deal. His re-addition to the Cavs would help Cleveland in two ways.

One, Smith would help replace Ben Wallace, who will miss four to six weeks with a broken right fibula. Two, it counters the personnel moves made by Eastern Conference-rival Boston. The Celtics added Mikki Moore and Stephon Marbury in the past 10 days.

Back in December, the Plain-Dealer reported that Smith would be interested in returning to Cleveland if he were to become a free agent. The Thunder granted Smith’s wish on Feb. 28, agreeing to a buyout before the March 1 deadline that would have prohibited Smith from participating in the postseason.

“I think the Cavs would have done this even if Wallace hadn’t gone down,” said one NBA scout.

If he joins the 47-12 Cavaliers, Smith shouldn’t have a problem fitting in. “Him having been there already should make the transition that much easier,” the scout said. “He knows what they’re doing.”

With Anderson Varejao replacing Wallace in the starting lineup, Smith would also give the Cavs’ second unit an offensive boost. “The [J.J.] Hickson kid is nice, but he’s a rookie,” the scout said. “When the playoffs come around, Smith has been there and one thing they didn’t have is a guy to bring consistency on offense.”

Smith, who can hit the mid-range jumper, could be used much like the Cavs use Zydrunas Ilgauskas to set screens at the top of the key or on the wing in their new motion offense.

“Smith isn’t as good as [Antonio] McDyess in Detroit,” the scout said, “but you have to box him out and he’ll make you pay if you don’t rotate on defense. You can’t leave him wide open.”

If Smith signs and when Wallace returns, the Cavs could have the deepest frontcourt in the postseason with Ilgauskas, Wallace, Varejao, Smith and Hickson. “And don’t forget, the Cavs sometimes like to move LeBron over to play power forward,” the scout said. “He creates problems there, too.”

The Cavs will need all the help they can get to claim homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. The Cavs are tied with the Celtics in the win column with 47 victories and have two fewer losses than the defending champs. The teams still have two meetings remaining this season: Friday in Boston and April 12 in Cleveland.

(nba.com)

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