Smith hopes to trade Toros for Spurs

Transition to new position offers player a chance to earn NBA call-up.

By William Wilkerson
AMERICAN-STATESMAN CORRESPONDENT
Saturday, November 25, 2006

Jamar Smith experienced first-hand the in-your-jersey defensive tactics of Bruce Bowen, the San Antonio Spurs swingman who's a six-time NBA all-defensive team performer.

During preseason camp with the Spurs, Smith endured Bowen's tugging on his jersey, the way Bowen pesters opponents like an oversized insect, his bear hugs, everything.

For four months over the summer, Smith didn't leave a Spurs practice with his jersey tucked in. But he did figure out an ingenious way to score on Bowen that none of the millionaire ballers in the NBA had thought of.

"I am bigger than Bruce. All you have to really do is get the ball and back him down. He is about 6-7, 220 and I am 6-9, 250," Smith said with a laugh.

If it was only that simple.

For a while, it looked as though Smith would have plenty of opportunities to test his plan. He was one of three players fighting for San Antonio's 15th and final roster spot. Guards Melvin Sanders and Charles Lee were the other two.

Soon that pair was cut from training camp. Smith was the only one remaining. Fourteen Spurs already had guaranteed contracts. Would he become the 15th?

Smith liked his chances. He had averaged 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Spurs in a summer league. That came after he averaged 11.4 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Austin Toros in his first season in the NBA Development League, earning second-team all-league honors. He knew San Antonio was looking for another small forward, which he had been playing in camp, away from his normal power forward spot.

But on Oct. 26 Spurs coach Greg Popovich broke the bad news to Smith: he was cut. The Spurs opted to sign James White, a 6-7 rookie out of Cincinnati.

"I was really shocked because I knew he was looking for a big three," Smith said. "I was the last big three, and he had two smaller guards. I was playing well, but things happen for a reason."

Now Smith is back in Austin for a second season with the Toros, a D-League affiliate of the Spurs who will face Fort Worth tonight in their home opener.

Popovich wants Smith to improve his perimeter shooting and defense. Smith was 0 for 5 from three-point range with the Toros last season, when Austin concluded its first season with a 24-24 record and missed the playoffs.

Toros coach Dennis Johnson plans to play Smith at small forward and "see where it takes us."

"He's going to have to learn and find out that it is much different from the four (power forward)," Johnson said. "There are different angles on the floor he will score from, different, faster players he will have to guard."

Johnson doesn't foresee Smith having any problems adjusting to a new position. The coach said he "honestly believes Jamar is on the path to the NBA this season."

Smith had a taste of the NBA while he was with the Spurs. He began summer-league play with the New Jersey Nets for two games before he joined the Spurs' club.

"He honestly learned something," Johnson said. "He knows what he wants to be now."

Smith, 25, traveled with the Spurs in October during the team's weeklong trip to Paris and Lyon, France. Back in San Antonio, he learned from practices against Bowen and other NBA veterans.

"Just being there playing against guys like Brent Barry and Michael Finley every day for four months over the summer was great experience," he said.

Smith also said Bowen wasn't a dirty defender, as some opponents have called him.

"Bruce was basically there to help me," Smith said. "I was in the transition from the four to the three, so he was just giving me guidance the whole time I was there."

Smith still watches the Spurs when he's not trying to improve his three-point shot or trying to get used to fighting off high screens in practice. For now, Smith's back in Austin, but he isn't content to stay here.

"This year could be his fast track into the (NBA)," Johnson said.

"I do believe he is going to make it. He has just had to calm himself down a little bit and he will be all right."