No more shots for this three point launcher.
photo courtesy New York Times
For those of you who do not know the Nuggets’ J.R. Smith, he is Denver’s most athletic player on the team. One would even argue that behind Carmelo Anthony, Smith is the most dynamic and talented player on their roster. Smith can drive, Smith can shoot, and when he applies himself, Smith can even play defense.
But, alas, Smith must go.
The New Orleans Hornets originally drafted J.R. with the 18th overall pick in the2004 NBA Draft. Smith came straight out of high school, backing out from a letter of intent that he signed to play at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the most prestigious basketball schools in the entire nation.
In case you don’t know, J.R. Smith is also the player who was part of the famous Nuggets-Knicks brawl, as he was suspended 10 games for his part in the fight. Smith also was benched during the fifth game of the Nuggets 06-07 playoff run for, “poor decision-making,” including Smith shooting wild shots and creating many stupid turnovers. Smith was also criticized by Head Coach George Karl for taking a long three-pointer with eight seconds to go in the game, when the play was originally designed to go to either Anthony, or former Nugget Allen Iverson. Smith drove Karl, who is considered by many to be a player’s coach, to say, “I just love the dignity of the game being insulted right in front of me.”
Many stated that that was just Smith showing his immaturity, as he was only 22 at the time of that defeat. However, here we are nearly three years later, and Smith is up to his old tricks. Most recently, J.R. walked off the court in a contest against his former team the New Orleans Hornets when Karl subbed him out. Smith strolled into the locker room and did not return for the rest of the game.
Think that’s bad? That is just Smith on the court; imagine him off of it. This is the same man who spent 24 days in a prison after running through a stop sign, which ultimately killed his best friend Andre Bell. J.R. then elected to cancel his twitter account upon being accused of writing in a way that reflected the Bloods gang, specifically replacing c’s with k’s.
What the Nuggets must do with Smith is trade him. This makes both basketball sense and business sense. The way I see it, Smith is a bad apple and the Nuggets can never win an NBA Championship with him if he continues to do stupid things. However, Smith is a dynamic scorer and when he is on top of his game he is unstoppable. If the Nuggets can not find a way to make him change his ways, then he must go. This is a team built to win now, with such old players and expiring contracts like` Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups, we do not have time to wait a few more years for Smith to grow up. The Nuggets would improve their chances if they were to deal him for a serviceable big man.
