Musings On "Young Rich"

The first topic I'd like to discuss on this website is a gentleman by the name of Earl Smith III, better known as J.R. Smith. He also goes by the nicknames "J.R. Swish" or his self-given moniker "Young Rich". I personally prefer Young Rich because I can identify quite well with having millions of dollars and being young. Young Rich has been in the news lately, and by lately I mean basically his whole career, for various reasons. Drafted out of high school by the New Orleans Hornets, Young Rich fell out of favor with then-Hornets coach Byron Scott. He was then traded to the Chicago Bulls for about a week before the Nuggets acquired him.

He since has clashed with Nuggets coach George Karl (Bald Rich?) off and on (certainly more on than off) throughout his time with the Nuggets. A George Karl quote in one playoff series tends to sum up his feelings about Young Rich: "I just love the dignity of the game being insulted right in front of me." Young Rich, while having endless talent and potential, has never been accused of having the highest basketball (or other) IQ. Let's just say he might be a couple tacos short of a combination plate.

The real question is whether he will set aside his ego to embrace the team concept and improve other facets of his game, those facets being basically everything except scoring when he does happen to be hitting shots. It seems as though every year Young Rich is expected to finally grow up and live up to his ability in a positive way. Young Rich spent 24 days in jail in the summer of 2009 for his role in a car accident that killed one of his best friends after he ran through a stop sign. He made various comments about how he was going to change for the better, but true Nuggets fans may remember that he seemed similarly confident in previous years as well. He changed his number from 1 to 5, which could have alluded to him acknowledging that the power of five players on a court working together easily outweighs the skill of one individual who is capable of sometimes hitting a forty-foot three pointer and making (or missing) an outstanding dunk.

Some think that it would be wise for the Nuggets to trade Young Rich. Arguments for trading him range from not needing him on a team as offensively talented as the Nuggets to having an enough is enough viewpoint concerning his immaturity. If there is one thing that Young Rich is consistent at, it is probably immaturity, and that broad term can be narrowed down to more specific topics. For instance, Young Rich sometimes decides to shoot at some of the most random times, ie not exactly in the flow of the Nuggets offense. Young Rich also seems to have other priorities, such as discussing getting wild at the clubs on Twitter or trying to impress his famous friends like Lil Wayne.

Despite many negative aspects of Young Rich's game and personality, I would still make the argument that he is very important to the Nugget's success on the court. Young Rich recently caught fire in a road game against the Houston Rockets, and his offense might have won the game for the Nuggets. There have been many games like that for Young Rich over the years, and the Nuggets probably wouldn't be where they are now without his dynamic scoring off the bench. Another plus for Young Rich is the first part of his nickname. He is still young and is still not even close to tapping his potential as an efficient all-around player. Some may think he never will, but people probably said the same things about Nuggets stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups earlier in their careers as well. If the Nuggets got rid of Young Rich, where would the scoring come from off the bench? It seems as though the only player on the bench who could be thought of as a scorer is Ty Lawson, and it would be tough to rely on him as the main scorer off the bench at this point in his career. It might be hard for Nuggets fans to hear, but the success of the team could very well be based on Young Rich, for better or for worse.

My name is John Host and I will be one of the co-authors of this newly created, Denver Nuggets based blog. I hope Garrett and I can provide dueling perspectives on issues important to the fans from a fan's perspective.

I have been seriously following the Nuggets since my freshman year of college when the Pistons decided Darko MiliBitch was a better prospect than CARMELO ANTHONY! At the time, I had fallen out of love a bit with basketball due to some bad experiences with the high school team I took part in. Growing up in Montana and rural Colorado I had always wanted a team of my own to root for in the NBA. I followed the Nuggets from afar, but was not willing to give my allegiance to a team whose best player was a headcase in Nick Van Exel. However, when Melo joined the squad, I knew Denver's fortunes had changed for at least the next twenty years. With him on the team we became playoff material right away and a new era was born. It's been an up and down decade with the Nuggets thus far. From problems in the first round, to the brawl in New York, to the Allen Iverson days, to the trade for Chauncey Billlups and the successive Western Conference Finals bid, the Nuggets could never be accused of being boring or predictable. Through it all, I have stuck by them and defended them against the naysayers. Those same haters are still out there to this day and I'm hoping my partner and I can shed light on the various scandals and goings on furiously debated in cyberspace. With no further adieu, I present my musings on the most pressing Nuggets topic at hand, the J.R. Smith conundrum.

J.R. joined my beloved Nugs after blowing it with Byron Scott in New Orleans. He has always been known as a problem child and Denver took him on with this knowledge, hoping to change him like a girlfriend hoping to change her asshole boyfriend.

Over the seasons the various scrapes he has gotten himself into haven only added to his reputation. Whether the fans will admit it or not, we love controversy. J.R. has always been a good scapegoat for our frustrations. When we lost to the Spurs in 2007, Karl made an example of him. He supposedly "caused" the scuffle in New York. His shot selection allows us to excuse the other Nuggets in a loss saying, "IF only J.R. hadn't taken fifteen, forty foot three point misses, we could have pulled that one out."

With J.R.'s last pout fest on the bench during the recent Hornets game, he really ruffled some feathers. During the game, some were guessing as to the reason for his exit to the locker room, but I knew right away he was throwing a tantrum. This led to me calling for his head and an immediate trade. Since then I have simmered down and so has he. I was too quick to judge him. There were many extenuating circumstances during the course of this game that caused a relatively docile Smith, so far this season, to go off the deep end a bit. Let me explain.

J.R. played the fewest minutes of any game he was available for this season due to his poor shooting and inability to defend Chris Paul compared to Afflalo and Lawson's efforts. I believe he took this too personally. His frustration over his shooting has been increasing over the season. Despite whatever shortcomings he has had, until this season, J.R. was the Nuggets all time three point percentage leader and could always be counted on for some long bombs. This has unsettled him and distracted him from his other improvements he has made, which is a shame. Instead of taking his slump in stride and focusing on going to the rim, as Karl has suggested, he has increasingly forced his shot. Perhaps he's afraid they'll change his nickname from "Swish" to "Swash".

Next up, is his association with Lil' Wayne's "Young Money" crew. He can be seen showing off his blingin' chain in their latest video, "Bed Rock". As it happens, Weezy was at the game in the front row taking in his Hornets and his friend's performance which was quite subpar that night. I believe J.R. was disappointed at having such a poor showing in front of the biggest pop star on the planet.

Furthermore, New Orleans has always been a team our young star has had it in for. Usually, J.R. has big games against his former team with this being the exception.

With all things considered, it is no wonder he boiled over despite a win for the home team. Therefore, I move we keep old Earl, because he has been known to shape up after some bad press and in his heart I think he is good person. His teammates like him and he has shown he is willing to talk to Karl on a more regular basis now. Besides, no one any time soon is going to be willing to take on our problem child.

We're stuck.