re: Ish Smith - asset or just a fill-in?

Calling him an asset is a stretch. Is he someone I'm okay with as my 5th guard? Sure. Is he someone who makes the players around him noticeably better? No. Am I asking myself too many questions? Yes.

Ish has good passing skill, but functionally, he does not facilitate good, or even adequate, offensive flow.

What I mean by that is this--it is very hard to be a positive presence on offense if defenses don't respect you. Passing ability and scoring ability are often evaluated separately, but an inability to do either will affect your ability to do the other. Ish's inability to score affects his ability to assimilate into an offense with good flow.

Ish is not a good scorer, which is evident in any efficiency metric (TS%, 3P%, 2P%, FT%, etc.) or any volume metric (USG, PTS/36, etc.). He doesn't score a lot and is horribly inefficient from every area of the floor. Seriously, his career numbers are putrid.

I think Ish has a good feel for the game (check his AST/TO #s), but there are some very real holes in his game that will prevent him from ever being a major minute-earner for a good team.