NBA Rumors: Why J.R. Smith Should Choose Clippers over Knicks and Lakers

J.R. Smith has a decision to make in the next few days that may impact the rest of his NBA career. He must choose a team that will be both a fit for him and the franchise if he wants to get a big contract after the season is over.

If he has truly narrowed down his potential landing places to the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, as his Twitter account indicates, his best choice would be the latter by far.

Here’s why.

Need for His Skills

Smith is a shoot first, ask questions later type of player. He averages over 10 shots a game for his career with almost half of those being from beyond the three-point line.

By the same token, he only dishes out around two assists per contest.

The Lakers already have this type of player in Kobe Bryant, who plays the same position and hogs the ball enough. They need someone who could jump-start the offense coming off the bench, but not a guy who continues to fire shots without a conscience.

New York has two black holes already with Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. There are already concerns that the offense will once again grow stagnant when ‘Melo returns, throwing off Jeremy Lin’s rhythm. It would be crazy to add another guy who certainly won’t be passing.

The Clippers would be the best fit because they never truly had a starting two-guard and installed the now-injured Chauncey Billups (a point guard by trade) at the spot.

Pairing a pure scorer with the passing abilities of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin’s low-post presence just makes sense.

More Money in the Future

The Knicks can offer the most money for J.R., with their full $2.5 million mini mid-level exception available.

Both Los Angeles teams can just offer a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum, which is $1.2 million this season according to Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times.

Smith would be wise to leave that extra money on the table he’d get by signing with New York so he can get a long-term, big-money deal with another team after the season.

If J.R. becomes an integral part of a deep Clippers postseason run, a number of franchises will be lining up to pay him this summer.

It’s a smart career choice to leave a (relatively) small amount of money this season to gain a lot more in the future.