I actually like JR Smith. He was here for a cup of coffee - the guy who won't be answering the phones anymore didn't even give him a chance. On the other hand, Smith isn't a starter, doesn't play starter's minutes, and failed to reach double digits in scoring 21 times. Not good enough to replace our leading scorer the past few seasons. It's not like he beat out Kirk Hinrich and his team actually needs a quality SG otherwise.
JR Smith was moved because he is the exact same player as Ben Gordon, albeit with some extra baggage. He doesn't play as many minutes because Denver has much better offensive balance. He still averaged 27.7 minutes and ~20 pts/36 this year, which is basically what BG averaged before he was forced into playing 40+ minutes per night due to injuries and the resulting young, offensively inexperienced front court.
It's not a new day yet. Unrestricted FAs did fine last year. I could see one depressed summer b/t the financial crisis and waiting for 2010 but maybe we should actually see what happens. It's only takes one offer to set a market. Edit: In fact, at the trading deadline, given that OK was willing to take on $25M for the next 2 years on Chandler's contract had he been healthy, it's unclear to me that much has changed at all.
This is ridiculous. JR Smith was last moved when he was 2 years into his pro career and was given away by two teams. He was averaging 15 pts/36 mins at the time, had a horrible attitude with zero BB IQ. Doesn't sound much like Gordon at all.
