Sometime within the next 24 months, John Paxson is going to get a lot of criticism for trading JR Smith for two second-round picks. The criticism won't be entirely fair. Acquired from New Orleans in the swap of Tyson Chandler's long, expensive contract for PJ Brown's short, expensive contract, Smith had little chance of playing in Chicago. Not because he's the malcontent that Byron Scott made him out to be, but rather because the Bulls had already put together a guard rotation with which they were happy: Hinrich, Gordon, Duhon, and Sefolosha (the sooner those last two names swap places in the rotation, all the better for Bulls fans).
Getting two second-round picks for JR Smith does not constitute getting equal value in return for Chicago, but trading him to Denver, where he has an immediate chance to fill their opening at shooting guard, makes the world a better place. For that, I congratulate John Paxson.
Early reports from Denver are positive.
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