Celtics are interested in JR Smith

[AirBonner]

http://www.espn.com/blog/nba/rumors/post/_/id/39595/nba-rumor-central-celtics-among-teams-interested-in-j-r-smith

Would be a great signing that would solidify their chances of being an ecf contender :applause:

[Captvic]

terrible idea

only reason he's not a problem on the cavs is because coach lebron is a mastermind

[DukeDelonte13]

Can they even feasibly do it?

I don't think so. Probably BS churned up by Rich Paul.

[qrich]

If they can keep him focused, would be a great add.

Doubt it though

[BigKAT]

They don't have the money for him.
Celtics would benefit from having him, without a doubt.

But he wants 15 Million range. Celtics can offer him even less then the cavs, or barely the same. I don't see him walking away for the same money, especially if money is the reason he is yet to be signed by the cavs.

[egokiller]

Why would a guy who just won the title want to leave his team for the same or less money?

[Uncle Drew]

Yeah, he ain't going anywhere. JR loves Cleveland, he's been there throughout the preseason and was with LeBron, Jefferson and others at the Indians game. This is just a rumour thrown out by Rich Paul to make Griffin shake in his boots and get a deal done quickly.

[egokiller]

Yeah, he ain't going anywhere. JR loves Cleveland, he's been there throughout the preseason and was with LeBron, Jefferson and others at the Indians game. This is just a rumour thrown out by Rich Paul to make Griffin shake in his boots and get a deal done quickly.

I wouldn't give Rich Paul that much cred, but it's definitely a rumor.

[Papaya Petee]

I wouldn't give Rich Paul that much cred, but it's definitely a rumor.
Rich Paul is a moron, but using other teams as leverage for negotiations has been the oldest trick in the book, he even knows it.

[Real Men Wear Green]

They don't have the money for him.
Celtics would benefit from having him, without a doubt.

But he wants 15 Million range. Celtics can offer him even less then the cavs, or barely the same. I don't see him walking away for the same money, especially if money is the reason he is yet to be signed by the cavs.
The Celtics should not pay him the kind of money we are hearing the Cavs would be willing to. The reality is that no one is offering him more than Cleveland so they have to act like there is at least one serious competitor to get more money when there really isn't. Let Cleveland hand him the albatross contract.

[BigKAT]

The Celtics should not pay him the kind of money we are hearing the Cavs would be willing to. The reality is that no one is offering him more than Cleveland so they have to act like there is at least one serious competitor to get more money when there really isn't. Let Cleveland hand him the albatross contract.

Yup. A pretty obvious leverage move. I bet Danny Ainge is sitting in his office, reading this and scratching his head.

[Lebowski]

No thank you.

[Nash]

he's the best 3&D player in the league, for sure they should get him if they can.
Cavs with a terrible mistake if they lose him

[RedBlackAttack]

It amazes me that legitimately employed sports writers, even with major newspapers like Frank Isola who started this rumor, don't think it is necessary to actually research the state of the salary cap and whether such a move is even possible.

For those of us who do understand it, the Celtics can't sign JR. The Celtics are over the cap already. They could free up around $2 million if they released some dead weight and used a cap provision they have. But, I don't see JR signing for $2 million when the Cavs have already reportedly offered around $12 million and he has said he wants to stay.

I don't have the list of teams in front of me who have even close to enough space to offer Smith a contract, but it is a very small list and none of the teams have shown any interest or would make any sense for him.

Long story short, this is bunk click-bait.

[JohnnySic]

Too many guards already lol. Smart, Bradley, Thomas, Rozier, Green, etc.

[AirBonner]

Too many guards already lol. Smart, Bradley, Thomas, Rozier, Green, etc.
Danny had a dream to have an all guard team. This is his chance to accomplish that :oldlol:

[Meticode]

The term "interested" means diddly squat. I'm sure the Shanghai Sharks are interested as well. Doesn't mean anything will happen or even can happen.

[AirBonner]

The term "interested" means diddly squat. I'm sure the Shanghai Sharks are interested as well. Doesn't mean anything will happen or even can happen.
While I agree that many teams probably have interest at least my topic isn't about Jordan or Lebron

[Meticode]

While I agree that many teams probably have interest at least my topic isn't about Jordan or Lebron
This shouldn't be a topic along with those. Better off being nothing.

[AirBonner]

This shouldn't be a topic along with those. Better off being nothing.
That is your opinion. In that case 99% of threads shouldn't exist on this forum. I respectfully disagree.

[RedBlackAttack]

Danny had a dream to have an all guard team. This is his chance to accomplish that :oldlol:
Except it isn't his chance, because JR isn't signing for $2 million a year ... if they were even able to clear that much (which is a stretch).

[bizil]

Boston HAS ENOUGH role player type guys. They need a superstar type to put them over the top. If they can't get a superstar somehow, they need a Gordon Hayward type to give them a Detroit Pistons 2004 kind of chance to win. Meaning having 3 All Star type guys who can give u 18-20 points (Horford, Gordon, Isiah) to go with their assortment of role players.

[G-train]

The reality is that no one is offering him more than Cleveland so they have to act like there is at least one serious competitor to get more money when there really isn't.

You don't know what others teams are offering JR Smith.

And given Celtics have no cap space, I would say this wasn't even leaked by Smith's team.
It was just made up by journalists.

[RedBlackAttack]

Boston HAS ENOUGH role player type guys. They need a superstar type to put them over the top. If they can't get a superstar somehow, they need a Gordon Hayward type to give them a Detroit Pistons 2004 kind of chance to win. Meaning having 3 All Star type guys who can give u 18-20 points (Horford, Gordon, Isiah) to go with their assortment of role players.
Their ace in the hole is Brad Stevens. I don't know how good a coach he can be or if he can overcome not having that All-World talent you're talking about ... but, it wouldn't surprise me if he did.

I've been nothing but impressed with him since his days at Butler. He's a phenomenal coach and he now has enough "really good" pieces to potentially make the difference.

[G-train]

Boston HAS ENOUGH role player type guys. They need a superstar type to put them over the top. If they can't get a superstar somehow, they need a Gordon Hayward type to give them a Detroit Pistons 2004 kind of chance to win. Meaning having 3 All Star type guys who can give u 18-20 points (Horford, Gordon, Isiah) to go with their assortment of role players.

They have 3 allstar types. Thomas, Horford and Crowder.

Surrounded by good role players in Bradley, Amir, Smart, Rozier, Olynyk, Zeller, Jerebko and possibly Jaylen Brown.

They will contend for the ECF this season and possibly further.

[RedBlackAttack]

You don't know what others teams are offering JR Smith.

And given Celtics have no cap space, I would say this wasn't even leaked by Smith's team.
It was just made up by journalists.
But, we do know which teams can be ruled out as offering him anything in the vicinity of what he's asking for. The list that we can rule out makes up 26 teams in the NBA. There are four teams that can feasibly offer JR a nice contract...

Here they are in order of how much space they have:

Cleveland (Bird rights)
Philadelphia
Brooklyn
Denver


That's the list. There are no other teams that can offer $15 million or more, which is what he's asking. The Cavs have already put between $12-14 million on the table, reportedly.

So, with all of that being said, where are his offers and who is making them? The three possible teams make zero sense for Smith and vice versa.


It's just math, guys.

http://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/

[G-train]

But, we do know which teams can be ruled out as offering him anything in the vicinity of what he's asking for. That makes up 26 teams in the NBA.

Here they are in order of how much space they have:

Cleveland (Bird rights)
Philadelphia
Brooklyn
Denver


That's the list. There are no other teams that can offer $15 million or more, which is what he's asking. The Cavs have already put between $12-14 million on the table, reportedly.

So, with all of that being said, where are his offers and who is making them? The three possible teams make zero sense for Smith and vice versa.


It's just math, guys.

http://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/

That's 3 teams that could use a shooting guard.
Especially a championship starting 3 & D shooting guard currently being offered below his worth.

Their current rumored offer is backup point guard money.
They are offering 3/33.
He was underpaid 6-7m last season.
He should be getting 4/60 at least and he will IMO.
It may be a partially guaranteed 4th year in the end.

[G-train]

It's just math, guys.

http://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/

I know the Collective Bargaining agreement inside out thanks - and all the teams current cap space. Otherwise I wouldn't suggest other teams could sign him.

[RedBlackAttack]

That's 3 teams that could use a shooting guard.
Especially a championship starting 3 & D shooting guard currently being offered below his worth.

Their current rumored offer is backup point guard money.
They are offering 3/33.
He was underpaid 6-7m last season.
He should be getting 4/60 at least and he will IMO.
It may be a partially guaranteed 4th year in the end.
He was traded and his team had to give away valuable assets because that $6.5 million contract was considered such a problem.

You also can't call him underpaid last year, because he opted out of his player option and he ended up having to crawl back, tail between his legs, and take less money than the option was worth ... that's how little interest there was in JR league-wide.

I love JR. He's perfect for the Cavs.

He'd make no sense for young teams rebuilding (Sixers, Nets) or a team already loaded with role players and stuck in no-man's land (Denver). More to the point, none of those teams have shown any interest in him, either last free agency or this one.

Let's be honest about JR's options ... they're pretty much nonexistent. It's either re-sign in Cleveland and play for another championship while being paid between $12-15 million (he's asking for $15 per) or sit out the season.

[Real Men Wear Green]

You don't know what others teams are offering JR Smith.

And given Celtics have no cap space, I would say this wasn't even leaked by Smith's team.
It was just made up by journalists.
I don't know who the source is for sure but if there was a contract out there for eighty million we would know because he would have signed it.

[bizil]

They have 3 allstar types. Thomas, Horford and Crowder.

Surrounded by good role players in Bradley, Amir, Smart, Rozier, Olynyk, Zeller, Jerebko and possibly Jaylen Brown.

They will contend for the ECF this season and possibly further.

I'm talking SPECIFICALLY about a Hayward All Star type guy. A guy that can get around 20 points a night. Crowder HASN'T proved that yet. His forte is his hustle and defense. And I'm not TAKLING ABOUT an ECF appearance. I'm TALKING ABOUT if they are TRYING to overtake Cleveland in the East. JR ISN'T enough to get them over the hump.

I mentioned the 2004 Pistons BECAUSE they had Billups, Sheed, and Rip. Three very good scorers. That's a team that could win rings WITHOUT a superstar. Boston AS OF NOW doesn't have a team capable of winning a ring. A guy like Hayward (as opposed to Crowder) gives them three very good scorers. Guys who could score 18-20 points in a season year in and year out if needed.

[bizil]

Their ace in the hole is Brad Stevens. I don't know how good a coach he can be or if he can overcome not having that All-World talent you're talking about ... but, it wouldn't surprise me if he did.

I've been nothing but impressed with him since his days at Butler. He's a phenomenal coach and he now has enough "really good" pieces to potentially make the difference.

Good points! I think Boston SHOULD MODEL their squad after teams like the 2004 Pistons as I stated before. They don't have a superstar, but a team with a lot of depth. If they could add another guy like a Hayward, it would give them another very good scorer to go with Al and Isiah.

That would give them that Rip-Chauncey-Sheed type trio to build around. From there Stevens can coach them up to greater heights. BUT if they are trying to overtake Cleveland anytime soon, JR Smith isn't the answer. If ANYTHING use that roster depth to make a big trade at some point.

[RedBlackAttack]

I don't know who the source is for sure but if there was a contract out there for eighty million we would know because he would have signed it.
The Cavs would have matched it and then he would have signed it. That's the thing about these "negotiations." Leverage in NBA contract negotiations are usually pushed by what the market dictates.

Cleveland actually allowed JR to save some face last offseason by giving him just a little under what he would have made had he not opted out of his contract. He thought teams would be lining up to pay him after a good year on a championship team. He was dead wrong. There was literally no interest and the market was incredibly unkind to him ... think, vet minimum level unkind. That's how bad it was.

This offseason is different in two ways ... Smith now has two quality seasons under his belt after his self-destruction in New York and he signed with Klutch Sports (Rich Paul, LRMR).

But, as far as what's out there for him? I follow the Cavs as closely as humanly possible for someone not employed by the organization and I've heard no word of teams who could offer the money he's asking for actually offering him ... anything.

Trust me, if the Sixers or Nets or Nuggets had made a competitive offer, Rich Paul would be the first person to leak it to one of his media sources. That's the way agents use leverage to help their client.

Instead, we get this nonsensical garbage about the Celtics. I don't know that JR's people leaked that story and this wouldn't be the first time Isola just made something up out of whole cloth. But, I also wouldn't be surprised if this were a desperate attempt by Rich Paul to build leverage for JR with the Cavs.

If there was an actual market for JR at the price he wants, the Cavs would have already signed him at that dollar amount. There isn't and that's why they haven't ... and shouldn't.


It's a game of chicken right now. Who will blink first. Is JR really committed enough to sit out the season if he isn't given $15 million instead of $12 million? Yes, it's "just" $3 million for the Cavs and there are probably some disagreements about the contract length. But, with the Cavs well into luxury tax territory, those extra $3 million cost probably triple that in taxes. They also have the "repeater" tax to worry about for teams who continually land in luxury tax territory. That's why every dollar matters. A lot.

I see Smith eventually agreeing to something in the neigborhood of 4 years, $48 million. He could probably edge that "per year" dollar amount higher on a 3-year contract, but he's going to want that extra year .... and making JR comfortable in a long contract involves risk. Other teams have found that out the hard way.

I'd rather him get 3 years, $40 million with a team option for a fourth year just to keep him on his toes and focused.

It's amazing we're even at this place after Smith was unceremoniously dumped because he was carrying the heavy weight of a $6.5 million contract in 2015. That was a year-and-a-half ago.

[CelticBaller]

adds more depth

I like it