Nobody Wants J.R. Smith
We know that J.R. Smith can sometimes appear to be a knucklehead (He’s spent more time in George Karl’s doghouse than anyone, ever), but the guy is a free agent who is a serious athlete who can clearly shoot the basketball. And I don’t care what team you are, every team can find room for another shooter, and there are a few still out there.
But apparently no one has expressed any interest in signing J.R. No one. Not one team. From today’s Rocky Mountain News:
Smith was asked Friday if he’d heard this summer from any other teams.
“Not yet,” he said.
Wait a minute. You haven’t heard from any teams having interest in signing you?
“I haven’t heard from anybody,” he said.
Smith said he hasn’t gotten an offer from the Nuggets, other than the option to return next season for the $3.04 million qualifying offer. He said it’s too early to say whether he might take that offer, which would enable him to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Sure, his restricted status makes it tougher to sign him, but there’s no one with any interest in this kid?
Would you want your team to sign J.R.?
Source: Rocky Mountain News
July 19th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Damon says:
if my team had a strong veteran group like boston, i would sign him.
but its probably even harder now that denver has shredded something of its payroll with that genius trade…
July 19th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Dagomar says:
This is hard to believe.
LOTS of teams out there need an athletic swingman with crazy upside. I know the guy’s undisciplined, but come on. In the right situation (see: San Antonio) he could absolutely thrive. The guy’s got talent.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
kobeef says:
If I needed a 2 guard I’d sign him. He can really shoot and like you say - if he could get consistent PT he could put up some big numbers.
That said, it was only a couple of months ago that Gerald Green was out of the NBA…so talent is not all that counts.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Damon says:
but jr actually has some skills. gerald just has that thletic ability.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
sunni says:
lakers should sign him
July 19th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
doc says:
We need him in Philly.We can get Willie Green the fuck outta here after that.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
miamiVIS3 says:
@ doc
Philly makes sense (although that’s one less spot for you lol)
and San Antonio would work because they made S-Jax fit
but I like him in Cleveland.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
GarethChantler says:
Suns should sign him instantly
July 19th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
Lakers are one team who DO NOT need him.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
nick says:
he is restricted fa that’s the problem and i’m pretty much certain most teams know the nuggets will match the contract at the mle level and a lil above.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Joe says:
How about the Knicks? he’d be perfect in D’antoni’s system
July 19th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:
He can be a knucklehead but he is talented. I find it hard to believe that no one has contacted him.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Chuck says:
Doc run the point though he’d be aight. JR in Philly would be PERFECT, they would suprise a lot of teams in the east with JR and solve that perimeter problem they have.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Bruce says:
cleveland would b a perfect fit for him… an atheletic aggressive player who shoots the ball…. does lebron know he on tha market
July 19th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
CJ says:
Smith is amazing. I am shocked to hear that no one wants him. He’s still young, amazing athlete, some of the best range in the league, and gets buckets. Somebody’s gotta pick him up.
and he did this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T85WnlYIwzs&feature=related
July 19th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
DJ Go Go Gomez says:
“We know that J.R. Smith can sometimes appear to be a knucklehead”
Appear??? This guy likes to punk women @ clubs. Did you guys forget about that?? He still has to go to court for putting his hands on a female and ripping her dress. I know there are two sides to every story and some women can make it difficult ot just walk away but you have too. There is no way you can look good if you don’t just walk away. Just because the guy can shoot a basketball is he’s not accountable for what he does?? And by accountable I mean he can act anyway he wants and expect teams to throw a bunch of money at him?? Behavior matters. I think that what David Stern is trying to get accros to these guys with the dress code and stiff fines and suspensions.
July 19th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
MagicMan says:
indy needs a shooter. i mean who’s gonna go out and shoot up the clubs this year?
July 19th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
the mamba says:
I say we put jr smith and gerald green in d’antoni’s system and let it fly. On a serious note if I was a gm I would at least inquire about jr. And also, why haven’t the knicks gotten a pg yet with all the names supposedly on the trading block. crittenton or marcus williams would be a good fit I think to develop n tank for a yr
Crittenton/williams
Q rich
W. Chandler
The cock
D. Lee
Get another few shooters off the bench. This is where jr would come in handy. I think d’antoni could get away w/ this lineup in the east. Try and get one real big men and shed the fat they have.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Bron42 had springs before slamball says:
@mamba, um cuz the knicks already have like 6 pgs under contract maybe? nate, marbury, mardy, duhon, roberson, crawford at times..
July 19th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
cameron says:
jr in newyork wouldn’t work remember the brawl at the garden it started with nate slamming jr in the crowd I don’t think new york need anymore tension in the locker room
July 19th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Borgs says:
No doubt he has all the physical assets, but Smith is borderline mentally handicapped. No way I want a player like that if I’m an NBA GM.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Bron42 had springs before slamball says:
Can someone explain why the OK/sonics team are now called the THunder? that sounds kinda hockey-ish
July 20th, 2008 at 2:32 am
BxBaller says:
This is sad. I hope J.R. takes this as wake up call. I’ve been a fan of his from his rookie year, and dude has mad talent. Like a lot people said earlier, put him on a team with a bunch of vets and he’ll be fine.
@ Borgs, thats totally uncalled for. Dude is like 23 years old, he’s gonna make some dumb decisions. Hopefully this situation will mature him a little bit.
July 20th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Bruce says:
OKC stole Seattle, stole SEA Thunder!
July 20th, 2008 at 6:15 am
YOUNGFED says:
black balled
July 20th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Yoooo says:
I hope people don’t think JR is some kinda thug or tough or any of that. He just a dumb ass, that’s all. He makes bad decisions to constantly try to impress his friends. And seeing as though his friends are my friends I could tell u firsthand they all just think he’s stupid.
Basketball wise he needs to be as far from Jersey as he can be. It wouldn’t be a good look for him to be accessible to people he grew up around. So Philly trust me when I tell you, you don’t want him. Hed be good on Cleveland I think tho. I would have definitely taken a look at signing him before I signed Gibson. He can do everything Gibson can plus is a better defender with waaaaaaaaaaaay superior athletic ability.
July 20th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Borgs says:
I apologise if I offended any mentally handicapped folk out there. Keep reading Dime.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
djKianoosh says:
i see what you mean about that comment though borgs, you may have overstated it for effect, but still, that’s why they say he does knuckleheaded things on the court.
I’ve seen a bit of nuggets games since AI has gone there and he does some asinine things on the court. there are just little things, little championship winning type things he doesn’t do and lesser players like Najera do. that’s why teams will take a lesser talent like Najera and even a guy like Posey and pass on a JR Smith. serious teams do, anyway.
if you’re serious about a championship, you want known quantities. JR Smith is an unknown waiting to happen. compare to Posey. threes, and defense. every night. count on it. it sounds harsh, but JR Smith is not consistently accountable.
July 21st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
JarrJohnson says:
The Nugs have every intent to match any offer that he receives. Part of the reason that they made the idiotic Camby trade was to free up that cap space. He was a huge spark off the bench and arguably the most consistent player in the second half of the season. He’s supposed to be part of the young core of players that the team is supposedly trying to build around.
If they let him go, I’ma drive down to the Pepsi Center and slap the dog sh—out of Mark Warkentin.