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The Charlotte Bobcats signed free agent guard Steve Smith on Thursday. At 35 years old, he's now the oldest Bobcat. In fact, he might be older than the combined age of all the other players. Perhaps not. It might be close. Someone look it up.

Smith has been in the NBA for 13 seasons. He spent quality time in Miami and Atlanta, bounced through Portland, San Antonio and New Orleans, and now lands a job with the NBA's newest expansion team.

The Bobcats' 2004-05 NBA season will be their first. The only obvious staple in this team's roster is Emeka Okafor, who helped lead the University of Connecticut to an NCAA championship and is a player the Bobcats hope they can build around.

As for Smith, his career average is 14.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Last season as a Hornet Smith averaged 5.0 points in 13.1 minutes per game.

Smith's best skill is hitting three-pointers. He's useful off the bench for some outside shooting. But with the Bobcats, who probably won't be winning too many games in their first season, his main role will be as a veteran leader, helping some of the younger players improve their games.

``Steve Smith is the consummate professional, both on and off the court, and he will be a great leader for our young team,'' coach Bernie Bickerstaff said to the Associated Press. ``Steve is one of the finest shooters to play the game, and he competes every time he steps on the court, which is what our team is all about.''