In the Nuggets’ eyes, their draft took place Thursday, almost a month after everyone else’s, with the acquisition of shooting guard J.R. Smith.
The team finalized a deal that saw them acquire Smith from Chicago for two second-round draft picks and Howard Eisley, whom the Bulls will likely waive. The Bulls acquired Smith last week from New Orleans/Oklahoma City.
Denver director of player personnel Mark Warkentien said that despite Smith’s disagreements with Hornets coach Byron Scott, the Nuggets were encouraged by the coaches who like Smith: Roy Williams and Gregg Popovich. Smith signed with Williams’ North Carolina team before opting to join the NBA out of high school in 2004, and Popovich’s Spurs nearly dealt for him at this year’s trade deadline.
“If this kid was leaving Carolina as a sophomore, would we have made this investment? The answer is yes,” Warkentien said.
Asked if he felt he has anything to prove to the Hornets, the 20-year-old Smith replied, “When everything was first going down, that was my prime objective. Now it’s a growing-up process. You can’t blame other people for your faults and what I may or may not have done.”
Despite a relatively low salary of $1.3 million – Denver has until the start of the season to exercise his fourth-year option – Smith has a strong shot at starting. But coach George Karl said he expects to make Smith earn his minutes.
“I don’t think he’s the answer. I think he’s the beginning of the answer,” Karl said. “I’ve always said that we need to have more than one shooter. There’s a possibility of adding more shooters, more changes.
“I think he has a great upside, but he’s a young player that probably needs some control over him, some motivation to learn the game quickly and comprehend what it takes to be a winning player, not just a talented player.”
Smith said he plans on working out in Denver over the rest of the offseason.
“It’s a great situation,” he said. “I’ll be on the floor. My contract year’s coming up, but it’s not about money for me. It’s about getting better.”
Speaking from Team USA’s camp in Las Vegas, Hornet Chris Paul predicted, “J.R. is going to bring a lot of excitement to Denver. … Talking to J.R. all summer, he’s been putting in a lot of work.”
Footnotes
The Nuggets declined to match the two-year, $6 million offer sheet center Francisco Elson signed with San Antonio last week. Warkentien said the Nuggets would miss Elson and called him a “great teammate,” but added, “You can’t kiss all the girls.” …
Denver plans to sign rookie forward Yakhouba Diawara to a two-year, guaranteed deal at the NBA’s minimum. He will be due $413,000 this season. Karl called the Frenchman “a team guy that’s committed to dirty work and the tough parts of the game and has an upside offensively.” …
Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera said he was misquoted in Thursday’s edition of Brazil’s Ultimas Noticias newspaper. According to a translation of the article in Portuguese, Najera said it was difficult to establish a relationship with the Brazilian Nene because of a language barrier and Nene and teammate Kenyon Martin have a rivalry.
“I get along with everybody and respect everyone on the team, especially Nene,” Najera said in a phone interview from Brazil. “When I got to the team, Nene was a guy that was cool to me and he showed me around (Denver). I’m embarrassed about this. … K-Mart is coming to my charity game (in Mexico in August). I like everybody.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears contributed to this report.
