Reply With Quote
this a great pull by the Nuggets. They get Smith for basically nothing.
There's no question that Smith has some issues, but if he can grow up a bit then they just found there SG (although he needs to work on his outside game to really be a SG).
exactly. always fun to watch people try and rip a deal that has very little wrong with it.u dont bypass a player that u can get for next to nothing just coz of at ude. Dont be dirty that you guys still have Barry instead of JR
If the Nugs lose out then its no big deal but if he meshes and grows up, then its a steal
this a great pull by the Nuggets. They get Smith for basically nothing.
There's no question that Smith has some issues, but if he can grow up a bit then they just found there SG (although he needs to work on his outside game to really be a SG).
man we shouldve traded for him when we had teh chance and trade him to nuggets to stock up on draft picks
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...851972,00.html
The Nuggets have Carmelo Anthony, Earl Boykins and others whose jerseys sell briskly at the team store.
They soon should add another.
"I'm a fan favorite," J.R. Smith said. "I get up and down the court. I like to dunk. . . . I'm sure (Nuggets fans will) love me."
Smith appears to be the Nuggets' future shooting guard. He said Monday he expects to be in Denver for a news conference Thursday, with a trade completed by then.
Thursday also is the deadline for the Nuggets to match the two-year, $6 million offer sheet restricted free agent center Francisco Elson has signed with the San Antonio Spurs. There were indications Monday the acquisition of Smith could lead to it being matched.
Smith was dealt Friday with P.J. Brown from the New Orleans/Oklahoma Hornets to the Chicago Bulls for Tyson Chandler. Smith said he will take a physical Wednesday in Chicago before being traded to the Nuggets, who he said have waived his physical.
The Nuggets will send the Bulls guard Howard Eisley, who has a nonguaranteed contract and will be waived, and two 2007 second-round choices. The picks will be the Nuggets' own and the lower selection between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.
The Bulls must clear money to sign free agent Adrian Griffin. It's why the Nuggets aren't paying a big price.
"(Smith) can shoot the lights out," Hornets guard Chris Paul said. "I don't know anyone with the ability to jump like him. Denver's getting a steal."
The Nuggets long have been searching for a shooting guard. They hope Smith will be the answer.
"I feel great about going to Denver," said Smith, who said Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin is the favorite player of his mother, Ida Smith. "I think George Karl is a great coach. . . . I'm looking forward to getting to know my new teammates. But I'm not going to make any starting predictions."
Smith, 20, was drafted No. 18 by the Hornets in 2004 out of St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J. He averaged 10.3 points while mostly starting as a rookie, but dropped to 7.7 last season, when he lost his starting job around midseason and clashed with coach Byron Scott.
Smith said it was "miscommunication." He said the two haven't spoken in a while.
Smith shot 37.1 percent on three-pointers last season. His high school coach, Dan Hurley, said Smith has a "Dell Curry stroke" and is a "phenomenal perimeter shooter" who was trying too hard to show he could put the ball on the floor.
"He's been lifting and getting stronger and really working on his skills," said John Lucas, a former Nuggets assistant who has been working Smith out this summer in Houston. "He's got the ability to be as good as anybody in this league."
Smith also has drawn raves for conduct off the court. His father, Earl Smith, said he has given $50,000 to St. Benedict's.
"I told him once, 'If you ever make it, I'll be knocking on your door (for a donation),' " said St. Benedict's headmaster, Father Edwin Leahy, who saw Smith when he visited the school Monday to work with youngsters. "He's a terrific guy, It's the middle of July and he stops by."
Smith will make $1.39 million in the third year of a three-year, $3.9 million deal. The Nuggets will have until Oct. 31 to pick up his 2007-08 option worth $2.14 million.
Because the Nuggets did not break the bank for a shooting guard, they might keep Elson. Nuggets director of player personnel Mark Warkentien wouldn't comment on Smith and how the trade might affect Elson, while Elson's agent, Calvin Andrews, said he had no update.
Warkentien expects to wait until Thursday to decide on Elson. That also appears to be the day he will introduce a fan favorite.
ETC.: Warkentien indicated restricted free agent Nene, who has agreed to a six-year, $60 million deal, could sign as soon as today. "Sooner, rather than later," said Warkentien, who said attorneys are working on the contract . . . Lucas said the Nuggets have "pretty serious" interest in his son, free-agent point guard John Lucas III, who played sparingly as a rookie last season with Houston before averaging 23.4 points for the Rockets in the Vegas Summer League.
the time is now! Nene and Smith signing to be announced today
JR Passed his physical in chicago and is on his way to Denver
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions