Boston Celtics Have Open Roster Spot And Nuggets J.R. Smith Is Available: Possibility?
[picappgallerysingle id="8654715"]The wing player that Paul Pierce is clamoring for is out there. Reports are the Denver Nuggets are looking to deal J.R. Smith. With the Rudy Fernandez deal going cold, maybe this is a possible target for Ainge. Let us analyze this rationally before jumping on the Celtics need J.R. Smith bandwagon.
Smith is a lethal shooter that plays both shooting guard and small forward. Smith is a streaky shooter, but when he gets hot, he can put a team away by himself. My favorite description of him is he can shoot you into games and shoot you out of them. However, his 15 points per game average shows that he is shooting teams into games more than out of them. He would be a great guy off the bench to relieve Paul Pierce or Ray Allen. His presence would be another offensive weapon off the bench for Boston.
Smith does have detractions. For starters he has always been viewed as a head case. Smith has routinely fought with his coaches including George Karl. He was last seen sulking on the Nuggets bench and blasting teammates through Twitter during the Nuggets disappointing loss to the Utah Jazz in the playoffs. This is not exactly the kind of guy the locker room craves. His defense is also suspect. In his defense, Denver was not exactly a defensive team other than shot blocking.
The other negative aspect is Smith makes six million dollars. To make the cap figures match, the Celtics would have to deal a couple players, draft picks, and cash top get him. Would what the team traded to get him create a different issue? Would Denver want anything Boston could offer? My guess is it depends on two factors. How many other teams show interest and how badly the Nuggets want Smith to vanish. A talented shooter like Smith will draw plenty of interest. If the Nuggets want to deal Smith that badly that they would take pennies on the dime, than there is a serious attitude issue that is 100 percent toxic.
My money is on a deal does not happen. Ainge is smart enough to stay away from this talented, but troubled player. As talented as he is, if he causes team strife, he is not worth it. Also the cost will probably be way too high. However, if he can be bought for pennies on the dollar and Ainge believes he will be a model citizen in Boston, then I would applaud the move. Since I know this will not happen Smith is not going to be wearing Celtics’ Green.
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