Jason Smith says he does not feel pain in the surgically repaired right shoulder that forced him to miss the final 24 games of last season, but he has not been cleared yet for contact drills.

Smith hopes to be cleared for contact just before the New Orleans Pelicans' training camp opens on Oct. 1.

"That's best guess right now because you never know if things will flare up when you hit somebody,'' Smith said earlier this week. ``You put in the time to rest and recover and you put in the work to strengthened it and get back in shape. That's all I can do right now is try to get in the best shape that I can.''

Smith briefly tried to play through his injury but admitted he felt further pain when players collided with his shoulder or when he tried to block a shot.