LAS VEGAS — The Thunder’s non-roster players, who were invited to play with the team in the summer league, practiced Sunday morning at a small prep school in north Las Vegas.
There was Tanner Groves from OU, Caleb McConnell from Rutgers and a handful of other players — hailing from Wyoming to Bowling Green — but blending in among them was a former first-round pick in Zhaire Smith, whose career arc has been unlike that of any of his summer league teammates.
Smith, the 16th pick in the 2018 draft, played all of 13 NBA games from 2018-20 and has been out of the league since. Injuries and illness hampered Smith’s career, but at 24, the former high flier from Texas Tech has not given up on his dream.
“I’m glad the Thunder called and wanted to pick me up,” Smith told The Oklahoman.
Smith, a 6-foot-3 wing, was on the infamous side of a 2018 draft-night trade.
The 76ers selected Villanova wing Mikal Bridges with the No. 10 pick, but Philadelphia traded Bridges to Phoenix in exchange for the No. 16 pick — which it used to select Smith — and a future first-rounder.
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Bridges, a key piece of the Kevin Durant trade, has since evolved from a 3-and-D specialist with the Suns to a potential two-way star with the Nets. Meanwhile, Smith’s NBA career unfolded in a series of misfortunes.
In an August team camp before his rookie season, Smith suffered a Jones fracture in his left foot — an injury Thunder fans know all too well, as it plagued Durant during his time in Oklahoma City.
Then, in November of his rookie season, Smith was hospitalized for six weeks due to a severe allergic reaction. He had to have a feeding tube put in and lost 40 pounds by the time he was discharged, according to a story in GQ.
Smith, remarkably enough, returned in time to play six games at the end of his rookie season.
Smith spent most of the 2019-20 season in the G League, and after the COVID stoppage, Smith stayed home from the Orlando bubble due to a knee injury. And knee injuries have plagued him since.
Last summer, he had a cleanup procedure on both knees — one surgery in June and another in July.
“Every year I was like, ‘Oh, I’m about to play, I’m about to play,’ then there was just a setback,” Smith said. “I didn’t know what was going on with my knees, and that was the hardest part.”
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Smith is now healthy enough to play. He appeared in two of the Thunder’s summer league games in Salt Lake City, shooting 6 of 6 from the floor, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range.
For a player who once had otherworldly athleticism, Smith is learning to adjust his game.
“He’s a really hard worker, he’s a great kid,” said Kameron Woods, the OKC Blue head coach who is leading the Thunder in the Las Vegas Summer League.
“I think his approach to everything that we’re doing has been really good in terms of playing, not playing, his voice out there on the practice floor, his readiness when his number is called. He’s a pro, and he’s definitely pushed our environment forward.”
Smith said he tries not to look back at that 2018 draft and what might have been.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to play basketball,” he said. “I just want to hope and go from there, let God take over from there.”
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NBA Summer League: Zhaire Smith ‘grateful’ for shot with OKC Thunder