May 5, 2008 12:24 AM
J.R. Smith's summer options
CHRIS TOMASSON ON THE NUGGETS
The Nuggets want J.R. Smith back.
Smith wants to return.
Does that mean it will be an easy negotiation when the shooting guard becomes a restricted free agent July 1?
Not necessarily.
Smith, you see, doesn't have to sign any deal this summer that he doesn't like. Smith, who made $2.14 million in 2007-08, has the option of accepting a $3.04 million qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2009.
After a strong second half of the season and a fine playoff series, Smith's value in free agency is higher than anybody would have projected several months ago. So it's possible he could land an offer sheet starting at around the midlevel exception of about $5.5 million, which the Nuggets would have seven days to match.
Then again, a team might be reluctant to hand out such an offer, thinking the Nuggets quickly would match. And it might be tough for a team, with money tight in the NBA and with Smith still not having proved his worth long term, to offer more than the midlevel.
That brings us to the Nuggets. If they offer a deal around the midlevel, that might be able to get it done unless Smith's representatives really want to play hardball.
But if the Nuggets are thinking more in the $4-5 million range as a starting salary, that could make for a tough negotiation. There might not be any reason for Smith to lock himself into a long-term deal starting in the $4-5 million range as opposed to coming back for the $3.04 million qualifying offer and possibly cashing in as an unrestricted free agent in 2009.
Stay tuned. It could be an interesting negotiation, one that could drag into September if the luxury-tax strapped Nuggets don't put a competitive offer immediately on the table.
May 5, 2008
4:11 PM
lorenzo writes:
I think young Mr. Smith might do well to designate some of his future millions toward a defense coach - and I'm not kidding. If the guy could play any, he'd be a $10 million dollar man. That's what I'd do with my summer if I was him, hire an all-pro defender to tach me how its done, as the "prayer" method of covering Kobe Bryant did not exactly bring positive results.
May 7, 2008
8:32 PM
conor writes:
If the Nuggets don't sign J.R. Smith I wiull no longer be a fan. he is by far the best thing going for the franchise...
May 9, 2008
12:12 PM
nick writes:
I think J.R. will want to stay if nuggets offer him acceptable salary. With mentor like A.I. in couple years he will become superstar player.
May 10, 2008
5:00 PM
Grant writes:
Me neither... if J.R. goes I won't be a Nuggets fan anymore. He has more potential than anyone on that team, and we need to trade Camby, K-Mart and Melo ASAP!
May 28, 2008
3:57 PM
shaneka writes:
Ha. I agree, Melo has got to go!!! A championship is not what colorado is going to get if we keep him. As big as that boy is, he should be able to take a punch in the face, a hit in the nuts and a push w/o being so sensitive. As far as I'm concerned, his college career was all he had and Denver made the mistake of thinking that it might just roll over into the big leagues. Oh yea, J.R. is the shiznit!!!