BIDDING to sustain its huge gain in the Philippine Cup, Blackwater is bringing in NBA veteran and former F-League standout Greg Smith as its import in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The 6-foot-10 Smith just signed up with the Elite and is set to arrive in the country next week.
A product of Fresno State, Smith, 26, was undrafted in the NBA, but had stints with the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He is coming fresh from playing with Istanbul, BSB in the Turkish League.
“Hopefully, he’ll be a perfect complement for the team,” said team owner Dioceldo Sy, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday.
Blackwater came a win short of advancing to the quarterfinals of the Philippine Cup, losing to Rain or Shine in a sudden-death for the eighth and last playoff berth.
Smith was an all-NBA D-League first team and all-Rookie first team. He was also an NBA D-League All-Star.
He had his best season in the NBA in 2012-13 when he averaged 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 70 games with the Rockets, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the five games Smith suited up in the playoffs, he averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds.
His last NBA stint was with the Timberwolves during the 2015-16 season.