Could Charlotte be Ish Smith’s final NBA stop? ‘It will be a great story to close out here’

Ish Smith was bound for his alma mater to see some college football over the weekend when his phone rang with a familiar number.

“I was driving up to a Wake Forest football game,” Smith said Wednesday. “I got the phone call from (Charlotte Hornets assistant general manager) Buzz (Peterson) and my agent was like, ‘Man, do you still want to play?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah. It’s home and it’s the perfect situation.’”

The whirlwind is now complete for the Concord native, who had been contemplating retirement after a 13-season career. Smith worked out for the Hornets on Monday — his first real gym time in 2 1/2 months — and was signed on Tuesday in time to join Charlotte for its regular-season opener against the Atlanta Hawks at Spectrum Center on Wednesday night, although he was inactive and sat on the bench in street clothes.

“I think that whenever you add a guy that’s been around and had his experiences, great person, the guys were all happy when they saw him walk through the door,” coach Steve Clifford said. “Look, on any team there’s only 15 (main roster spots) in our sport. So, every guy has a chance every day to make a positive impact or a negative impact on your culture. So, whenever you get a guy like that that’s going to be positive it’s always a good thing.”

With the Hornets in need of help at reserve point guard behind star LaMelo Ball after Frank Ntilikina’s knee injury, Smith is back for a second tour of duty, returning to the franchise he played 37 games for in 2021-22 before he was shipped to Washington at the trade deadline.

“It feels good — I’m happy for all the guys,” Smith said. “I’m just happy to be back in the locker room with the guys. I feel like we have some unfinished business. Obviously, I got traded to D.C., and it worked out for both sides. But it was just a situation where you are starting to build a relationship with guys, joking, laughing, plane rides and locker rooms. All those different things. “And now it feels like you can kind of build that relationship back and whatever they need I’m here to help in any kind of way.”

That mentality has been Smith’s calling card since he entered the league in 2010 after four seasons with the Demon Deacons. He’s played for an NBA-record 13 teams during his career, starting in 167 of 762 games he’s appeared in, averaging 7.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 19.4 minutes.

He also has a piece of jewelry that he can proudly show off after winning a championship with Denver last season. And that’s the thing about Smith’s arrival.

Besides being a solid and more than adequate option for Clifford off the bench, Smith provides the Hornets with something else they could truly use: a knowledgeable, experienced voice Charlotte has otherwise lacked over the years. Smith fills that void, giving the Hornets a needed presence and potential sounding board.

“Leadership,” PJ Washington said, “just a vet mentality coming in here each and every day working, just showing the young guys what to do. We don’t really have many older guys so Ish and G (Gordon Hayward) are pretty much our two. So, it’s great to have them and they give us a lot of insight and a lot of information that we do need.”

Still, there’s a method to impart that wisdom. It’s an intricate process at times.

“I think you’ve got to build relationships first and foremost,” said Smith, who will wear No. 14. “I think we’ve got really good relationships. Melo texted me when we won the championship and I texted him back when he got (a new contract). ... For me, you try to get to know the guys, take what you learned from being in Denver.

“Once you can build a relationship with guys, you can kind of go to that aggressive mode ... (and try) to give them nuggets here and there in one-on-one situations.”

Smith’s approach has helped to boost his longevity, which admittedly could come to a close when the 2023-24 campaign wraps up. He joked he had to warm up his knees just to get through Wednesday’s morning shootaround.

“I’ve got an 18-month old and a 2-month old,” Smith said. “I wasn’t going to any other state an I preferred to be here, and be home with family, friends ... I was born and raised here and it will be a great story to close out here.

“... More than anything, let’s win some games. And whatever is needed from me, try to help out as much as possible.”