Is Josh Smith the Final Piece to Houston Rockets' Championship Puzzle?

The Houston Rockets weren't in the market for a savior, and they won't be asking versatile forward Josh Smith to fill such a role.

Already in the thick of the NBA championship hunt, the Rockets have been searching for competitive advantages. A low-risk investment in the 29-year-old is a shrewd way to find one, as Smith's well-rounded skill set offers a potentially rich reward.

If Rockets coach Kevin McHale can emphasize Smith's strengths while masking his limitations, Houston may have just forced its way near the front of the title race. If Smith plagues his own production with too many ill-advised shots, the Rockets can keep leaning on the pieces that have already made them one of the league's top teams.

The impact of Smith's addition won't be clear for some time, but it's already apparent this was a risk worth taking for Houston.

The Rockets have had their eyes on Smith for a while.

They tried to engage the Atlanta Hawks in sign-and-trade talks when Smith hit the free-agent market in 2013, per CBS Sports' Ken Berger, but could not land him. He wound up inking a four-year, $56 million contract with the Detroit Pistons instead, a deal that came to an abrupt end Monday when the Pistons opted to release him after being unable to trade him.

Plenty of suitors lined up for Smith, but he ultimately decided to join the Rockets and his childhood friend Dwight Howard, as Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported:

USA Today's Sam Amick confirmed the report and shed some light on Smith's motivation for choosing Space City:

The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen provided the financial details of Smith's new deal:

"The Rockets sold Smith on coach Kevin McHale’s system and a roster of teammates who believe they need Smith’s talents to chase a Western Conference championship," wrote Wojnarowski. "Houston wants to get Smith back to his strengths of shot-blocking and rebounding on defense, and attacking the basket on offense."

The Rockets have a plan for Smith, and it surely involves ditching the long shots he fires up with regularity—but no real accuracy. A quarter of his career field-goal attempts have originated in the dead zone 16 feet from the basket to the three-point line. Another 12.1 percent of his looks have come from beyond the arc, shots he has converted at only a 27.8 percent clip.

That being said, it's hard to imagine the Pistons wanted him to shoot from the perimeter as much as he did. And his employer before that, the Atlanta Hawks, had its own qualms with his quick trigger.

On paper, the Rockets look like a tremendous fit.

Between Howard (19.3 points per game) and scoring leader James Harden (27.0), Houston already has at least the top two spots on its offensive pecking order put in place. Smith, who has been shooting a career-worst 39.1 percent from the field this season, could see a dramatic improvement simply by sharing the floor with more threatening weapons than he had alongside him in Motown.

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"Being able to be reunited with a good friend and one of the best teammates I ever played with, I think we can definitely do something special," Smith told Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. "Playing beside the best 2-guard in the game right now in James Harden, what more can you ask for."

The Rockets have more than their two perennial All-Stars to help Smith. There is also Houston's analytically based offensive system that eschews the mid-range jumpers Smith prefers for corner threes, attacks of the basket and trips to the free-throw line.

McHale puts his players in position where the numbers say they work best. When everything goes according to plan, things like Harden's meteoric rise are made possible. The bearded baller averaged 16.8 points a night his last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder and has not averaged fewer than 25.4 in the three years since.

The opportunity looks great, but it will only be as good as Smith makes it.

"After going from the team with the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference to one that currently is fourth in the highly competitive West, Smith has no excuse for not making it work in Houston," noted Michael Lee of The Washington Post.

Talent has never been an issue for Smith, and it isn't one now. Despite his abysmal 89 offensive rating, he still has something to offer on that side of the ball.

He hasn't been the same above-the-rim finisher fans may remember. Limited both by Father Time and some nagging injuries, he has been ground-bound like never before. He had 10 dunks in 28 games for the Pistons this season. Two years ago, he threw down 123 slams in 76 games.

But what he has lost in his own scoring prowess he has replaced with an ability to create for his teammates. Even on the punch-less Pistons, he had compiled a career-best 26.5 assist percentage this season. His 4.7 assists-per-game average ranked tied for 37th overall and was tied for the third highest among non-guards.

Houston could use another playmaker, as no one has really replaced the 4.0 assists Chandler Parsons took with him to the Dallas Mavericks over the offseason. Harden paces the Rockets with 7.0 assists, but no one else averages more than three helpers a night (not counting Corey Brewer's four-assist debut).

Surrounded by shooters, slashers and interior scorers, Smith should find an abundance of assist opportunities.

But the opposite side of the ball could be where this addition goes from intriguing to championship-puzzle completing.

The Rockets have fueled their 20-7 start on the strength of their second-rated defense. As ESPN Insider Amin Elhassan explained (subscription required), Smith still has the tools to be an impact defender:

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He combines his length and decent lateral quickness with excellent anticipation and timing, and can guard a wide array of positions. He is excellent at disrupting in the passing lanes, and in pick-and-rolls has the mobility and feel to either hedge hard and recover or switch onto the ball handler. Indeed, in Atlanta, he played in a defensive scheme that featured a high number of switches, and he played it well.

"

Even in what has been an incredibly disappointing season, Smith has averaged more blocks (1.7) than Marc Gasol (1.6), Robin Lopez (1.5) and Larry Sanders (1.4). Smith's 4.2 block percentage is tied for 16th overall.

He's also disruptive as a ball hawk, averaging 1.3 steals per game. Of the 45 players averaging at least one block a night, only 10 others also average one steal per game.

Smith plays an opportunistic style of defense, which should make him a great fit for a team that already ranks third in steals (9.1), tied for 10th in blocks (5.0) and fourth in fast-break points per game (15.9), via TeamRankings.com.

"He could do a lot of stuff for us on the defensive end," Howard said while lobbying his old AAU teammate to join him, per Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. "Blocking shots, rebounding, playing against some of those big 2- and 3-guards in the league. I think having him would take some of the pressure off of some of our other wing defenders."

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The Rockets don't need Smith.

They have stormed out of the gate just fine without him, and that's with Howard, Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones all missing significant time to injuries. Jones still hasn't returned from a nerve issue in his left knee, although McHale said recently the forward has started making progress, per Feigen.

Houston could have been really good without Smith. But in a conference where four different teams have a winning percentage above .740 and three others are clearing .620, really good isn't going to be good enough.

Greatness will be required for whichever team escapes the Wild West. There are no guarantees that Smith can launch the Rockets to that elite level, but there's at least a best-case scenario where that outcome exists.

And for a low-cost gamble, Houston has given itself a chance to see if Smith might be the last puzzle piece needed to realize its championship dream. If he centers his offense around sharing the wealth and attacking the rim while focusing his defense on getting deflections, steals, blocks and boards, he can be the third-best player on a title team.

Smith has a reputation to repair and a stat sheet in dire need of cleaning. If he seizes this opportunity, he could check off both boxes and cement the Rockets as full-fledged contenders.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.