Lakers Coach Mike Brown Spoke to JR Smith


Chris Paul may feel supremely confident about the Clippers landing JR Smith, but the other team that plays in the Staples Center is also interested in Smith’s services. From the LA Times: “Coach Mike Brown spoke with free agent J.R. Smith, a forward-guard who could solve two problems at once for the Lakers. Smith could help them at small forward and also provide backup support for Kobe Bryant at shooting guard. Smith, 26, has played in China since the NBA season began. He signed with a Chinese pro team during the NBA lockout and was obligated to honor the contract until this month. There are some problems for the Lakers as far as Smith. They can offer him only a comparatively small salary of less than $1 million, a prorated portion of the veterans’ minimum, because they are over the salary cap and spent their entire mini-midlevel exception on Josh McRoberts. Smith made $6.8 million last season with Denver. There are several other teams pursuing Smith. He listed them on his Twitter page: New York, Chicago, Indiana, Orlando and the Clippers.”