The Spurs really need to find a way to get JR Smith this offseason

[50 cent]

Dude is nails and we need to get younger.

Make it happen.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:tu

[Chris]

He makes bad decisions in big games. No thanks.

[peewee's lovechild]

How long is he contracted for with the Nuggets?

[K-State Spur]

not nails. he has his moments, no doubt. but he also has plenty of big games where he goes into a shell and you barely know that he is on the roster.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

How long is he contracted for with the Nuggets?
RFA at the end of the year.

[50 cent]

Denver must make a qualifying offer of $2.3M for him to become a RFA or else he is unrestricted after this season.

[duncan228]

I like the kid.
He's got talent.
He might do well under Pop.

[peewee's lovechild]

Denver must make a qualifying offer of $2.3M for him to become a RFA or else he is unrestricted after this season.

Then, there's definitely a shot at the Spurs landing him.

We need youth.

[peewee's lovechild]

I like the kid.
He's got talent.
He might do well under Pop.


I agree.

I think Pop can work with him, and he's got good enough talent.

[lefty]

He makes bad decisions in big games. No thanks.
:clap :clap

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Signing JR Smith + drafting Brandon Rush = :king

[TDMVPDPOY]

he will lose his street credentials if he comes here, he has to remove them tats...

[ChuckD]

JR has a lot of the qualities of Jack, the hotheadedness, the stupid plays, the bad ball handling, the poor shot selection. Unfortunately, one of the ones left out was that clutch-ness.

[The Truth #6]

He'll be out of our price range anyway. Secondly, there's no way he'll want to come here. He'll have more options. If a few years back the trade had actually gone through he might have believed in the 'system' but now with his head full of his recent accomplishments, I can't imagine him being a part of the Spurs team plan. I'd go after Matt Barnes who doesn't even play anymore for GS.

[bdictjames]

I think we have a better shot at Eduardo Najera.

[Crookshanks]

he will lose his street credentials if he comes here, he has to remove them tats...
True, true! :lol I was thinking during the game that he wouldn't fit on the Spurs team because he has too many tatooes! :p:

[Thompson]

I'm watching the G.S. game, I think I prefer Azubuike to Smith. Talent without the (apparent) mental problems.

[Mark in Austin]

JR Smith is almost as clutch as Kenyon Martin.

[reddog 99]

He works well in a open flow offense.

Do you think that is what the Spurs play?

When you put the handcuffs on him he tends to force instead of looking for the open man.

But, in your defense it seems that lately he is hitting all his big shots.

[mystargtr34]

I wouldnt mind Matt Barned or Azubuike

[Bruno]

JR Smith would be a great acquisition but I have a hard time to see him being interested to play with Spurs.

Aside Parker and Ginobili, Spurs will have, as perimeter players, Bowen, Udoka and maybe Vaughn under contract in 08-09. They are offensively limited players. Spurs will need to go after perimeter players with offensive skills, even more that they have nothing in the pipeline.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fh5ilUPLMco

:smokin play of the year candidate

[T Park]

James Jones please.

[Whisky Dog]

Spurs are going to need some shooters with good shot selection.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Are we talking about the same JR Smith who didn't show up for the first round of the playoffs last year? I won't lie, he looks appealing. He's young, athletic, a scorer, but unless he's done some growing up I see him getting a spot in Pop's dog house pretty quick if he has any of the attitude issues that Byron Scott had problems with.

[Obstructed_View]

I think George Karl successfully blamed the entire playoff series loss on JR and subsequently saved his job. That said, I don't want JR Smith anywhere near the Spurs unless he's in someone else's uniform.

[50 cent]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fh5ilUPLMco

:smokin play of the year candidate
That was amazing.

[urunobili]

i don;t see JR on the Spurs.. on the paper he is a perfect fit for what this team is lacking... but getting cocky when benched for Manu to come in... i dunno about the chemistry issues.

[DaDakota]

Didn't you guys already try Stephen Jackson?

I mean that is exactly the same player as JR Smith.

DD

[50 cent]

Didn't you guys already try Stephen Jackson?

I mean that is exactly the same player as JR Smith.

DD
Yeah, and we should have kept SJax. I'm all for finding another SJax.

[urunobili]

Didn't you guys already try Stephen Jackson?

I mean that is exactly the same player as JR Smith.

DD

Jax>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>JR

[Darkwaters]

JR Smith would be a mistake. Trust me. Having been a Hornets season ticket holder for two seasons (including his last season with the team before being traded to the Bulls) I can tell you that his degradation to the Byron Scott's doghouse was well deserved. And since leaving the Hornets hes simply become worse. The Carmelo fight last year, the car accident and all the stupid incidents on the court. Hes pretty much single handedly wounded the chemistry of that team.

No thanks.

[hater]

no thanks

[tav1]

I'm not sold on Smith as a Spur. I think there might be better fits available, although I see his appeal.

We have a lot of options at this point, and I'm curious to see which direction the Spurs go. Off the top of my head, there may be the possibility, though remote, of Artest for the full MLE, Navarro, Duhon, Jones, Delfino, Tony Allen, Trevor Ariza, Pietrus, Smith, Vujacic, etc..

And they'll have to decide whether to split the MLE on two players or offer it to a single guy. I lean toward splitting on two rotation type guys that could play 20 minutes or so a night. My big problem with a player like Artest, aside from the crackheadedness, is that I don't see a way to get him, Ginobli and Udoka the minutes they deserve. It's a lot to pay for a guy you're going to underutilize.

So split the MLE on a couple of guys that will plug in for Finley and Vaughn (I know he's under contract, but he should be relegated to a third option) and draft wings to develop. Or some such variation.

[easjer]

If he didn't have apparent attitude and off court issues, I'd be far more interested. I do think Karl threw him under the bus, undeseveredly, and that his play has potential. But for better or worse, Spurs basketball is about more than just on-court play, which is precisely why SJax didn't work out in the end.

[ducks]

Didn't you guys already try Stephen Jackson?

I mean that is exactly the same player as JR Smith.

DD
sj is more mature and actually a leader right now

[ducks]

actually if sj has a bad game gs loses
he plays well they win
saw the stats last night on tnt

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

JR has as much athleticism and ability as Kobe, the problem is that he doesnt have the work ethic or discipline.

He needs the right type of coach to help him reach his potential. I have no idea which coach could do that lol

[MoSpur]

My heart says yes, but my mind tells me know. I would go with my mind on this one. SJax was/is my favorite Spur. JR Smith reminds me of him, but he is more athletic, but Jax was more clutch.

I'd rather go after someone like Antawn Jamison or Corey Maggette.

[JamStone]

Fh5ilUPLMco

:smokin play of the year candidate


Sick alley oop. Unbelievable really.

But also clearly a 180, not a 360.

[G-Nob]

We had our chance at JR and the deal didn't get done.

[AFBlue]

As someone else pointed out, Smith is a RESTRICTED free agent. Denver may not think he's in their long-term plans, but they'd be idiots to just let him walk and not extend that piddly qualifying offer.

The question is how much it would cost to pry him away from the Nuggets. Restricted free agents are usually not gone after because their status drives up the cost to discourage matching.

Is Smith at the full MLE really worth it? And if the Spurs offered the full MLE, wouldn't the Nuggets just match anyways?

Add to that the other argument that has been brought up....Spurs have Ginobili, Bowen, Udoka, and I think Barry at least for next year with the possibility of retaining Finley. When would Smith see the court?

Bottom Line: Despite his attitude questions, I'd love to have him on this team. BUT, you also have to factor in cost (can Spurs afford him?) and whether he'd come here.

I agree with another poster that said it's best to build from the ground up. Get a guy in the draft (Rush?), maybe add Marcus Williams, and/or snag a guy who doesn't have an immediate expectation for playing time (Azubuike?). Then you have the ability to retain some of your veterans and bring the others along slowly.

[Mark in Austin]

Every championship team has had somebody who could throw down sick alley oops. Sign Him!

[Darkwaters]

I agree with another poster that said it's best to build from the ground up. Get a guy in the draft (Rush?), maybe add Marcus Williams, and/or snag a guy who doesn't have an immediate expectation for playing time (Azubuike?). Then you have the ability to retain some of your veterans and bring the others along slowly.

Definitely. I think that the team should look to draft a young swing like Brandon Rush. Then we could sign someone like Azubuike or James Jones. All of these players are capable scorers, and thats probably what the emphasis should be placed on: replacements for Finley and Barry. Scorers.

Still, I'd like to take a look at Sanikidze and see how ready he looks. What about Linton Johnson? If the Raptors don't keep him then I still stand that he would be a great addition to the team. Scoring isn't the main strength for these guys, but they'd still work out on the squad. We should also look at some guys during summer league like Quinton Hosley (formerly of Fresno State, now in Turkey). All things depending, we might be able to find the next Jamareo Moon laying around.

Lastly, I think that at least one of our draft picks should be spent on a foreign draft and stash swing. A guy like Uros Tripkovic could probably be had with our worst draft pick and he'd be a decent long-shot type of draft pick. But we need to take at least one swing at a player like this in the draft.

[Ronaldo McDonald]

JR has as much athleticism and ability as Kobe, the problem is that he doesnt have the work ethic or discipline.

He needs the right type of coach to help him reach his potential. I have no idea which coach could do that lol

Seriously, Jr Smith doesn't have 1/4 of the abiltiy of Kobe. Put the crack pipe down.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Seriously, Jr Smith doesn't have 1/4 of the abiltiy of Kobe. Put the crack pipe down.


http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Scoring.jsp?league=00&season=22007&conf=OVERALL&position=0&splitType=19&splitScope=PER48&qualified=Y&yearsExp=-1&splitDD=Post%20AllStar

Post all star break per48 minute stats. JR is scoring at a better rate than Kobe, hitting a better percentage from 2 and 3.

JR has the talent. Don't get confused about what talent is and what work ethic is.

[genomefreak13]

Inconsistent player. I say, a complete waste of money. It's not only about getting younger, its also about getting better.

JR. Smith can score in bunches when he's waxing hot (Which seldom happens). When he's in the freezer, he as cold as a dead turkey. Can't improve our bench that way. It's better to get young player that plays consistently every game than a player that plays in the opposite poles every night.