NFT: JR Smith wouldn't blame Knicks for trading him...

methinks.

but Hardaway appears to have offensive skills that you can't teach and Shumpert will not come close to. Shumpert is a natural defender..but you can replace that.

Hardaway and JR have more valuable skillsets than Shumpert. I just can't envision a future where Shumpert comes close to either of their offensive games.

Maybe bad coaching got in Shumpert's way, but he's so bad offensively. Even Landry Fields was good at backdoor cutting and getting easy buckets. Shumpert can't even do that.

But I can't agree with the people who believe Shumpert has more to offer this team than JR Smith.

That being said, I'm not sure if Phil Jackson has any idea who he'll trade. I 100% believe that he intentionally leaked this so it can spread like wildfire and now he'll take the best bang for his buck. Not necessarily what nets him the most, because obviously that would end up being JR...but what nets him the best value for what he's giving up.

Methinks that you'll need a strong SG defensive presence like Shumpert, which is why I think Smith (and Ellington) should go out of JR, Shumpert and Larkin.

that JR has skills that shump will never reach. That being said, shump's the only guard that can defend on this roster. I'm not sure either is going to net enough though.

who on this roster can defend a guard? Calderon is a terrible defensive player. THJR isn't defending the oppositions best guard. JR Smith is ok, but he's certainly not someone I have confidence to step up on a daily basis defensively. Our bigs are mostly atrocious defensively. Shump is the only guy that can do it and I'd bet he's motivated to prove his doubters wrong after last year.

Jackson said all along that he was a trade filler. As a trade filler making $2.5 mm, who would take him?

no, he would not be ideal as a backup 3. IF he were to play back to the 2012-3 season as a shooter, while holding the improvement he made as a rebounder last year, he could be a reasonable backstop, especially given his defensive capabilities. Not ideal, but not as terrible as some here suggest, IF he can hit the corner 3 at over .400 as he did a year earlier. Maybe his other skills improve this year as well. That is what camp would tell us. As noted above, he has plenty to prove.

from his biggest and arguably only asset...his defense. Obviously if he's shooting .400 from 3, he's adding value, but the whole point of using Shump to the best of his abilities, is him guarding the oppositions best guard. If he's not going to do that, he's kind of pointless.

His value has got to be close to as low as it could be. He was a complete knucklehead with his antics last year, and his overall numbers were below his typical standards. I think the best way to approach it is to let him stay for the first few months of the season, and increase his value.

After the All Star break last year Smith averaged 16.6 pts, 4 rebs, 3 ast on 44.8% shooting from the floor and 41.7% from 3. That is close to the level of production that he had in his 6th man of the year season. If Smith can come out and play like that for the first 3 months of the year, I don't see any reason that Phil can't get good value for him.

I'll agree that ideally you'd like Smith(or Shump for that matter) to have the chance to raise their value because both guys are at a low right now, but there isn't enough minutes or space for all 3 guys. Neither Smith nor Shump are ideal at the 3, so they there isn't enough minutes to go around. Also, let's not pretend like Smith had so many suitors when he was available as a FA. There weren't many teams interested in him as I think most realize that he's a knucklehead that will never play to the level that he should play to.

I have no doubt that JR would find a good deal somewhere if Nick Young can get 4/21.5 from the Lakers. I feel like JR Smith is better at his job than Nick Young.

In comment 11774249 kmed said:

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I'll agree that ideally you'd like Smith(or Shump for that matter) to have the chance to raise their value because both guys are at a low right now, but there isn't enough minutes or space for all 3 guys. Neither Smith nor Shump are ideal at the 3, so they there isn't enough minutes to go around. Also, let's not pretend like Smith had so many suitors when he was available as a FA. There weren't many teams interested in him as I think most realize that he's a knucklehead that will never play to the level that he should play to.

I agree there isn't room for all 3. I have no problem with moving Iman. I just don't think he's very good. As far as suitors for Smith, the landscape has changed. Look at some of the contracts that were handed out this year. Lance Stephenson is a bigger clown than Smith and was able to get a 3 year commitment out of Charlotte. It shouldn't be hard to find someone to take a flier on Smith with a shorter contract and half the money owed compared to what Lance got.

the physical tools as JR.

2 years with a team option.

In comment 11774253 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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I have no doubt that JR would find a good deal somewhere if Nick Young can get 4/21.5 from the Lakers. I feel like JR Smith is better at his job than Nick Young.

Rihanna vs. Iggy Azalea

In comment 11774448 kmed said:

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the physical tools as JR.

I don't agree with that at all. Smith was a lottery pick out of high school for a reason. His talent has never been the issue. He has always been considered an extremely gifted player. He has the ability to be one of the best SG in the league, he's just a clown, and a dumbass. Smith just has a much longer track record of being a clown than Stephenson does which is why he hasn't been able to cash in as Lance has.

stephenson is a bit bigger, but athletically JR can probably go toe to toe with him. JR is an insane athlete which is probably the only reason he is still hanging around the league.

more crazy than JR.

Smith is insanely athletic. His frustration is that he doesn't put it to use on the court. He's content to be a jump shooter when he could probably take anyone off the dribble.

As opposed to JR Smith who just likes weed, women, and alcohol.


...and untying shoe laces.

In comment 11774637 AnotherGiantsFan said:

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As opposed to JR Smith who just likes weed, women, and alcohol. ...and untying shoe laces.

The last part cracked me up.

In comment 11774456 DanMetroMan said:

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In comment 11774253 Ten Ton Hammer said: Quote: I have no doubt that JR would find a good deal somewhere if Nick Young can get 4/21.5 from the Lakers. I feel like JR Smith is better at his job than Nick Young. Rihanna vs. Iggy Azalea

Come on. J.R. is better than Nick Young. J.R. at least attempts to play defense and does it well from time to time. Nick Young is allergic to it and breaks out in hives when he DOES play it.

but I def have a hatred of JR Smith and it shines through often. I think Stephenson is a much better player mainly because he is ascending and is much younger than JR who has peaked and has already proven that he's a loser.

Smith is better than Nick Young. Not by a wide margin but he is better. Stephenson is easily better than both.

.

didn't he get in trouble for gang affiliations or something?

but it was a joke infused with a comparison that I didn't agree with.

In comment 11774831 kmed said:

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didn't he get in trouble for gang affiliations or something?

J.R. is not a kid anymore either. Dude is almost 30.

another reason I'll take Stephenson over JR any day of the week. JR has peaked and has proven that he will always be a loser. Stephenson can still turn it around and seems to be a kid on the rise.

being a prick/scumbag is part of comparing on-court ability now? Further, while I do NOT believe Stephenson will be one of these guys, there have been true morons who eventually matured (ZBO comes to mind). Far less track record but Cousins was roundly praised for his maturity level this year.

I just made the clear distinction between JR Smith and Lance Stephenson as people. JR Smith is immature and likes to have fun off the court, Lance Stephenson is a piece of shit on and off the court.

It's unfortunate the Pacers were so patient with Lance and gave him time to develop. If he was drafted by any other team, he would be out of the league by now.

but wasn't JR Smith known to have gang affiliations or was that blown out of proportion?

and wouldn't want to rely on him on my team, but his ceiling, IMO, is much much higher than JR's and they both have off Court problems. That being said, JR is now 30 and still has the same problems so its a good bet that he's not going to change. Stephenson is still young and getting better as a player, but is also a moron.

Typos and misspellings happen on Twitter. It's quick and everyone's trying to get what they have to say out as fast as possible to the world. J.R. Smith had everyone confused with his use of the letter K instead of the letter C in every tweet he made. It caused an uprising in the community of Denver and on Twitter. People felt like J.R. was substitute the letters to represent an association with the Bloods. Smith quickly deleted his twitter account after the heavy criticism he took because of this.

Since J.R. Smith entered the NBA in 2004, he has been one of the most exciting players in the NBA. According to the Denver Post, Smith repeatedly replaced C’s with K’s while Tweeting. When he was confronted by the media about this letter choice, he responded by shutting down his Twitter account. While playing for the Nuggets, Smith was also known for throwing up gang sign during games.

In comment 11774865 kmed said:

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but wasn't JR Smith known to have gang affiliations or was that blown out of proportion?

No actual proof. Replaces C's with K's on twitter, throws up gang signs in pictures and during games. Shit people do all the time when they aren't in gangs.

Melo was somewhat into that around the time of the "Stop Snitching" video, and he cleaned up his image as well.

are pictures of Derrick Rose throwing up gang signs too. Some of these guys just like "being cool" and aren't actually affiliated beyond "I grew up with gang members so I can pretend I'm with them".

In comment 11774875 DanMetroMan said:

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And..that's not a gang sign any more than Rasheed Wallace doing the "3 to the head" sign after making a 3. THe whole team did that in 2012.

must be tough coming up in the burbs of freehold, NJ.

Because they all throw up the suwoop and all that other shit that comes with it. It's really common for people who aren't in gangs to do that shit nowadays.

Pretty sure JR Smith was born and raised in a fairly stable household and never was seriously involved in gang activity.

pretty sure JR Smith is/was what you call a poser and not an actual gang member. Stephen Jackson is/was a legit blood though.

are bad people. I'm sure we've all been put in a situation in which we needed to throw a b*tch down the stairs, no?

not defending Stephenson at all but in fairness the case was dismissed so who knows exactly what happened?

In comment 11774892 kmed said:

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are bad people. I'm sure we've all been put in a situation in which we needed to throw a b*tch down the stairs, no?

lol

In comment 11774896 DanMetroMan said:

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not defending Stephenson at all but in fairness the case was dismissed so who knows exactly what happened?

There's other documented evidence of him being a piece of shit. But I'm also not a court of law, so I have no problem passing judgement and 100% believe he threw a pregnant woman down the stairs. I've heard enough stories about him through word of mouth to believe that.

no doubt he's a scumbag. I just meant that given the fact it was dismissed we will never know if he actually committed this specific crime.