Eastern Rumors: J.R. Smith, Sixers, Knicks

Making J.R. Smith a competitive offer might not be a bad idea for the Celtics, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com argues. Boston could use another shooter and Smith made 40% of his 3-point attempts with the Cavaliers last season, Forsberg points out. The Celtics could renounce their rights to Tyler Zeller and craft a one-year deal somewhere in the ballpark of the $15MM that Smith is seeking. Smith opted out of the final year of his contract in June, though Cleveland still holds his Bird rights. The Celtics could weaken their chief Eastern Conference rival by signing Smith to a short-term contract while not sacrificing any of their future flexibility, Forsberg adds.
In other developments around the Eastern Conference:
  • Bryan Colangelo’s overt attempts to trade either Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor has backfired, Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. The Sixers’ GM should have taken a more low-key approach and now has undermined his ability to trade either big man, Sielski continues. Both young players know that Colangelo is shopping them, and while it makes sense to now keep them into the regular season to improve their trade value, that might lead to discord in the locker room, Sielski adds.
  • The Knicks are one of three teams pursuing point guard Chasson Randle, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Randle, who went undrafted in 2015, made a favorable impression on the Knicks’ brass while playing for their summer-league team. He could be New York’s No. 3 point guard behind Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings but the club is out of cap space and can only offer the rookie minimum of $565K, Berman adds.
  • Combo guard Tomas Satoransky expects to go through a significant adjustment period when he joins the Wizards this season, Gene Wang of the Washington Post reports. The 2012 draft-and-stash prospect officially joined Washington Thursday on a three-year, $9MM deal. “The game is quicker,” Satoransky told Wang and other media members during a conference call. “For sure, it’s better athleticism in the NBA than what I’m used to Europe, so I’ll have to adjust as soon as possible for that.” Satoransky could emerge as John Wall‘s primary backup at point guard, Wang adds.
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