Trading Spaces
J.R. Smith (Photo. Stephen Hill)Your J.R. Smith Trade Watch update: With ‘Melo, Iverson, Nene and K-Mart among those sitting out for a short-handed Denver squad in last night’s game against Detroit, J.R. got about 25 minutes of burn with which to help or hurt his trade value. (The illustrious trio of Von Wafer, Anthony Roberson and Bobby Jones each got more PT than Smith). When he was on the floor, J.R. shot 4-for-14, turned the ball over 4 times, and fouled out. And he couldn’t hit a three, which is the one reason why the Nuggets still kinda need him on the roster … Rasheed made it through the game, which is an accomplishment considering he’d been ejected from the previous two. Who gets kicked out of two straight preseason games? That’s gotta be some kind of record … We didn’t even know Pat Burke was on the Warriors. Good for him, though. He’s definitely found his niche in the League: being the enforcer-type on up-tempo teams, just like Frank Brickowski was with the Kemp/Payton-era Sonics. And can you imagine what Burke does to Brandan Wright in practice every day? That’s like a legit heavyweight going up against an underdeveloped (albeit way more talented) light heavy … Doesn’t Roger Mason kinda look like a DeShawn Stevenson Starter Kit? And neither one of them looks anything like they did when they first came into the League … Get ready for LaMarcus Aldridge to have a big year. With Greg Oden on the shelf and Zach Randolph no longer in the picture, he’s The Man in the paint for Portland. LaMarcus looked great in the Vegas Summer League and he’s kept it up in the preseason; last night he hung 29 points on the Hawks … Meanwhile, Taurean Green has officially jacked Sergio Rodriguez‘s spot in the Blazers rotation. We thought Taurean was a long shot to even make the team back when he got drafted, but now he could actually get some meaningful minutes as an Earl Boykins-ish combo guard off the bench … Shaq to the Miami Herald on his latest injury (quad bruise): “The crazy thing about it is, I’ve got pads. I’ve got knee pads. I’ve got quad pads. I’ve got shin pads. And the place it’s not padded, [Emeka Okafor] got me.” That’s what we were thinking the last few times Shaq ended up with some sort of leg bruise. He should talk to Gerald Wallace about effective pad placement … Apparently Jamaal Magloire dropped 20 pounds over the summer and worked on getting quicker. We say “apparently” because we watched New Jersey practice recently and Magloire looked like the same guy we’ve seen plodding around the court for the last few years. How long ago was it when he almost won the All-Star Game MVP? It might as well have been 1985 … Forgive us for diverting from hoops for a minute, but can we PLEASE get a college football playoff system in place? This season has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that now is the time. Division 1 football is no longer like women’s college basketball, where only a few teams are worthy of national championship consideration each year — there’s too much parity in today’s game, which is why you’re seeing upsets like Kentucky/LSU and Colorado/Oklahoma and Stanford/USC every week. Really, does anyone think Ohio State and South Florida are the two best teams in the country? One reason the NCAA hoops tournament is so great (and so necessary) is that you can’t just play out the regular season and say “These two teams are the best. They’ll play for the championship.” If that was the case, last year the title game would have been Florida vs. North Carolina. Putting together a 16-team playoff system is too simple. It would make a ton of money, and you can still have the bowl games under that format: The major bowls can act as late-round tournament games (with the national championship game rotating like it does now), while the smaller bowls will be like the NIT does for basketball. It’s easy. Seriously. Just do it already … We’re out like the BCS …
-->
October 15th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Fish says:
I think the Heat should grab J.R. on the cheap. He needs Riley type discipline and would inject some youth into the team.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:33 am
E-ROC says:
The Cavs or Heat should trade for JR Smith. They need it and a bunch of other things. Getting him would be a start. Rasheed needs to stop getting ejected. It’s getting annoying now. You can’t even laugh at it anymore because it’s so pathetic.
Ohio State isn’t one of the top two teams in the country. They haven’t beaten any yet. Kent State doesn’t count. South Florida is another story though. One can argue that they are the #2 team in the country at the moment. They aren’t pushovers. They’ve played very well this and actually challenged themselves with their non conference games. Not the same can said about Ohio State.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:33 am
doc says:
jr stinks and he cant shoot like people think
October 15th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Andy Buckets says:
Fish,
I’m not sure if the Heat need J.R. They have Daequan Cook, Smush Parker, D. Wade, Dorrell Wright, and Penny. Where would Smith get minutes?
Denver is a good fit for him. He just needs to buy into what Karl is doing out there. At the end of the day he’s only hurting himself. Having that “knuckehead” stigma hanging over you can damage your career, coaches will pick a dude that is less talented if they know he has no character issues.
Hopefully J.R. and Karl can come to some sort of resolution. At the end of the day its only going to hurt the Nuggets.
P.S….I would love to see a team like South Florida play and win the National Championship. This yr. college football has been nothing but exciting. Its going to be very interesting to see what two teams wind up 1 and 2 in the BCS. And as always….someone is going to get screwed.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Bust Jlaze says:
I haven’t seen any of these preseason games yet…how’s Penny looking out there?
October 15th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Kobeef says:
The BCS is bogus. It keeps the excitement out of the championship – it is great to see teams like Gonzaga and George Mason in March Madness upsetting the supposed big guns.
Let’s let make decisions about playoffs on the court and field, not the boardroom.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:54 am
djKianoosh says:
I hope and pray Billy King doesn’t get another one of his bright ideas and even thinks about bringing in JR Smith. Just say NO! put it down Billy, put the phone down!
October 15th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Triple Threat says:
J.R. had problems with Scott and now Karl, whose next Phil Jax or Pat Riley.
Whatz up with the J.R. names that came through the NBA. J.R. Raider and J.R. Smith, thesse guys are athletic and had potential to be solid players in the league, but refuse to do what is best for them and the team.
J.R. Smith should suck it up and listen to Karl, easier said than done I know, but still Karl is a good coach who coached a HOF player or two in his career, and he’s known for winnning. Whatever it is, J.R. needs too patch things with up Karl and move on.
Anyways, Melo and A.I. are vets in the league and are not going to let this little problem get in the way of their championship run this year.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Fish says:
Think he would squeeze some worthwhile minutes at SG for the Heat. See Wright being used at the 3 (and his minutes being limited, again), and Penny/Parker probably won’t log much time even without J.R. He is probably more of a second unit player anyway. Would be great for Denver if he could be used between A.I. and Melo (as I think A.I. could be a great point guard in the latter part of his career), but it’s just not going to happen.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
chrisb says:
I understand where you guys are coming from regarding the BCS; the BCS is fuct up. So, you guys are suggesting a 16-team tournament at the end of the regular season? And, essentially, the season would be extended an extra 4-5 weeks to accompany the tournament? I could get down with that.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Lucky Lester says:
Playoff system in college ball – no way you ever get a 16 team playoff. This is football. That would be a 4 week system and that’s just too long for anyone in college football to agree with. (As much as I’d love it) I think they should shoot for a 6 team playoff with a 1st round bye for the two best teams. If the season ended today it’d look like this.
Boston College vs.
South Carolina game 1
LSU vs.
Oklahoma game 2
THe winners of each would play in
Win 1 vs.
South Florida
Win 2 vs.
Ohio State
then a National Championship game.
You could do 8 teams as well, which I’d also love to see. But I think the best chance we have is for BCS 1 and 2 to get byes, and the next 4 to playoff for a chance to play them.
All I know is the system they have now is BROKEN.
October 15th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
D-Lite says:
Yes there is a lot o money to be made with a tournament, however the wrong people will be making the money. currently the folks in power make the money. So as long as they are alive it will stay stupid.
October 15th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
sans says:
Yeah, mason looks like Papa Smurf–but, does he have the matching grill at his place?
October 15th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Tamilan says:
I never liked JR’s game. When i first saw him play, i thought he was athletic and should be a slasher. Now when i watch his games, he’s just jacking up three’s. It’s not like he’s a sharpshooter, he’s aiiite. Not worth the trouble, they should trade him for a shooter or atleast draft picks. But i do agree he would fit with Miami. Shaq would put him in his place
October 16th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Kudabeen says:
Either JR is a young Knuckle-head that just don’t get it (and does have a jumpshot to go with incredible athleticism) or He has encounter two of the worst coaches a High School player could get.
Byron Scott plays favorites it seems the way he rides certain guys and Karl much like Larry Brown chooses to chew a young guy out and yank him rather than encourage and coach him up.
I think JR would blossom under Riley, because Riley motivates his players on an individual basis. JR is fragile. His experience in the league hasn’t been very welcoming. You are a rookie out of High School and your coach has no regard for your emotional development as a player. He ridicules you to the point where you are at a Sprewellisk level of anger and then continues to ride and put you down in the media. Then you get traded to a coach that says all the right things until you make a mistake, then he starts to poke fun of your intelligence and ability to learn to the media. How do you think he feels? He probably feel like he is going to show them and forces the issue. He is a really good shooter and he has all the tools to be a quality SG in the league, but He needs coach or a mentor. Love Melo, but he can’t be a mentor to JR too much of a peer. JR doesn’t have trouble with his game or staying in shape, it’s mental and Melo is not to far removed from his own mental lapses to give guidance.
The Free JR campaign has officially begun in my camp. The Heat, Cavs, Magic, Celtics and even the Lakers could use his talents and have a better staff to handle his mental development.
JR has a strong male role model in his life, so I’m just talking basketball. He father can’t teach him how to think the game and make it conform to his talents. So much talent to waste. Who are the Nuggets leaders. I’m disappointed that Iverson is swooping in to save this young guy from himself. Somebody… That’s why as much love as I have for Melo and AI they won’t win Chips. You need anchors
October 17th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
B Lynch says:
JR isn’t going anywhere….too much talent to get rid of at this point….we have to give him a look at the 2, to start the year. Karl has beef with him, but upper management knows what we’ve got..potential wise.