The Pelicans fell in Phoenix on Sunday despite a team-high 22 points from Jason Smith, who drained 9-of-12 field goals with eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and zero turnovers.

Smith came in shooting 23-of-46 from mid-range this season, accounting for a whopping 86.8 percent of his FG attempts, which is crucial since it clears space in the paint for Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and the Pelicans' perimeter-averse offense. Greg Stiemsma (four minutes) has become an afterthought, and Smith will be a decent source of points, percentages, rebounds and blocks as long as he stays healthy.

Jason Smith started at center and scored 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting with five rebounds in 29 minutes on Friday against the Lakers.

Smith is in the midst of a tidy window for deeper leagues, as Ryan Anderson isn't back yet and the Pelicans are in the midst of a four-game week. He'll be a tough guy to trust even in deep leagues because of his injury history.

Jason Smith is listed at the Pelicans' probable center for Wednesday's opener.

Greg Stiemsma was terrible throughout the preseason, which may have handed the job to Smith even though he missed part of the preseason with a hip injury. He's healthy now and deserves a look as a low-end source of scoring, boards and blocks.

Jason Smith (hip impingement) returned to action on Saturday, coming off the bench for seven points, nine rebounds and one steal in 23 minutes.

He missed the previous two games but looked fine tonight, playing with his usual energy and abandon. Monty Williams likes Smith paired with Ryan Anderson in the second unit, and as long as he's playing a reserve role Smith belongs on the waiver wire in average leagues.

Pelicans big man Jason Smith is suffering from a hip impingement injury and there is no timetable on his return, Coach Monty Williams said after Wednesday's practice.

"He's got what they call an impingement, whatever that means,'' Williams said. "I feel like it's smart to rest him right now." Smith is expected to back up Greg Stiemsma at center and could win the starting job once he's fully healthy. But for now, it's hard to tell when he'll be back at full strength as he's currently rehabbing the injury.

Jason Smith (hip) will not play in Thursday's preseason game.

He doesn't have a timetable to return and he did go through some rehab work in Wednesday's practice. Smith was cleared for camp back on September 30, but clearly has been going through some complications this month.

Jason Smith did not practice on Monday due to a sore hip.

He also didn't play on Sunday, so this is probably why. Smith is going to run with the second unit and figures to back up Greg Stiemsma to start the season. He's not worth drafting in standard leagues.

Jason Smith came off the bench for two points, one rebound and a block in eight minutes of Wednesday's preseason win.

He struggled in his previous game with a similar line after going for 12 points and five boards in 25 minutes of the season opener. He's the favorite to start at center for the Hornets, but Greg Stiemsma got the start tonight, and was also quiet with just two points and two boards.

Jason Smith (shoulder) took part in Tuesday's practice.

It was the first time he had contact on a basketball court since sustaining a torn labrum last season. Smith is going to be a part of New Orlean's second unit, which looks to be one of the better groups in the NBA with Tyreke Evans and Ryan Anderson joining him. He's only worth a look in deep leagues.

Jason Smith (shoulder) has officially been cleared to participate in the Pelicans' training camp.

"The shoulder's been doing well," Smith said. "Training camp tomorrow is going to be the first time for me going full-contact, full-bore." Smith missed 31 games last season and needs to prove he can stay healthy before fantasy owners consider picking him up off the waiver wire. He projects as a backup PF/C on the Pelicans roster.

Jason Smith will be physically ready for training camp, according to GM Dell Demps.

Demps said his entire team is healthy, which was a serious issue last season. Smith could get some minutes in the frontcourt, but isn't expected to play much more than his 17.2 minutes per game from 2012-13.

Pelicans F/C Jason Smith expects to be cleared and playing without limitations in time for training camp on Oct. 1 after recovering from shoulder surgery.

"It's all fixed; all better," Smith said. "It's just knowing that it is better, and I've got to go out there and trust it. I think that's going to be the big test going through training camp." Smith will likely split time at power forward and center this season, but with Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson both ready to go at PF, it makes sense that Smith will split most of his minutes at center with Greg Stiemsma and Jeff Withey. And with so many bigs around, it will be tough for him to make a huge fantasy impact. He was also banged up with a variety of injuries for much of last season, so his health will be a concern once again.

Jason Smith (shoulder surgery) hopes to be cleared for contact in late September.

The Pelicans open training camp on Oct. 1. "You never know if things will flare up when you hit somebody," Smith said. "You put in the time to rest and recover and you put in the work to strengthen it and get back in shape. That's all I can do right now." The good news is that he's pain-free and it sounds like he might be ready to go for the season opener, even if he misses the start of training camp.

Jason Smith (shoulder surgery) hasn't yet been cleared for contact drills.

Smith declared himself "completely healthy" just moments before saying, "I can only do so much with conditioning ... they haven't fully released me to go really play or anything like that." The Pelicans doctors are playing it safe with their oft-injured big man and his status for training camp is uncertain.

Jason Smith is continuing his rehab from shoulder surgery, but he will not be able to do any basketball work until training camp.

Smith underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum in March, and as a result he will have a challenge to be ready by the time the regular season opens up. Smith's contract only calls for $1 million guaranteed if he's waived before June 30th, but since he's only slated to make $2.5 million next season, it's really a $1.5 million deal, and that seems pretty reasonable for a backup big man of his caliber.

Jason Smith (shoulder surgery) has one year left on his contract at $2.5 million, but it's only guaranteed for $1 million if he's waived before June 30th.

Smith said recently that he's "making progress" in his rehab and it will be interesting to see if the Pelicans keep him on their roster -- $2.5 million isn't unreasonable for a solid backup PF/C, but Smith seems injury-prone after having three major surgeries in the past six years.

Jason Smith had successful shoulder surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Smith had surgery to repair a torn labrum, the same injury that Dwight Howard is currently playing through.

Jason Smith (shoulder) is out for the season.

Smith has a torn labrum in his right (shooting) shoulder, ending his season with averages of 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 17.2 minutes a night. It's the third major injury in his six NBA seasons. Smith tore his ACL while with the Sixers and dealt with serious concussion issues while with the Hornets last year.

Jason Smith (shoulder) is questionable to play on Friday.

Smith didn't play on Wednesday and did not participate in shootaround on Friday, and that means he's the definition of questionable going into the game. With Anthony Davis' (shoulder) status also up in the air, Ryan Anderson could be staring at heavy minutes.

Jason Smith picked up some extra playing time with Anthony Davis suffering a shoulder injury and had eight points, three boards, one assist and one block in 17 minutes on Tuesday.

Davis might not be able to give it a go on a back-to-back Wednesday against the Thunder. Smith would likely log minutes in the mid-20s with Davis and out could flirt with a double-double. However, he's still only worth a speculative add in deeper leagues since Davis' injury doesn't sound too bad.