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Official ending Mavericks waive rookie Leon Smith
Posted: Friday February 04, 2000 11:10 PM
DALLAS (AP) -- The Dallas Mavericks on Friday announced that they waived Leon Smith, the talented young basketball player whose personal troubles kept him off the court. Smith signed with the Mavericks Nov. 2 but was placed on the team's suspended list Dec. 6. He became a free agent Tuesday without playing a single game in a Mavericks uniform. He leaves the team with the assurance that he'll receive the $1.45 million guaranteed to him as a first-round draft pick. If another team takes a chance on the 19-year-old forward, it must fulfill the three-year deal Smith signed. If not, the Mavericks will pay it out over 10 years. Smith, who was raised in a series of group and foster homes in Chicago, refused Dallas' request that he play in a developmental league or go overseas to ease his transition to the NBA. Instead, he signed the day the season began. But Smith trained away from his teammates and within two weeks he tried to kill himself by swallowing more than 200 aspirin. He since has said he was distraught over a breakup with a girlfriend. Weeks later, Smith spent a destructive few days in Chicago and was arrested twice within 24 hours. He's since been in and out of psychiatric care. He moved to Houston last month to work out with players' union representative Purvis Short.
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