Five players the Trail Blazers should target on 10-day contracts

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 22: Jeff Green #32 and JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers jump for the rebound against the Indiana Pacers in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2018 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 22: Jeff Green #32 and JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers jump for the rebound against the Indiana Pacers in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2018 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Portland Trail Blazers, JR Smith
(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

JR Smith

When the name JR Smith is mentioned the first thing most people do is chuckle about the time he forgot the score in the 2018 NBA finals. Yes this happened, but it was in the past and shouldn’t be a reason to not bring him in on a ten-day contract.

Smith is an experienced campaigner with championship pedigree. He is a microwave scorer who is also an all-time great three-point shooter. He can play competent defense and will still rebound well enough at six-foot-six. He could move between the two and the three and would provide scoring at size.

Smith’s main calling card is his shooting, this would be the primary reason for him being signed. His combination of size and efficiency means he is probably the best shooter available on the open market. He is a career 37.3 percent shooter from three, and 41 percent from the corners.

Over his 14 season NBA career, Smith hit two threes a game in a total of eight seasons. He is streaky, but so are shooters like Danny Green, who just signed a thirty million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Though he is 34, Smith has kept in good shape. Unfortunately, like ex-teammate Carmelo Anthony, Smith has earned a reputation on social media which isn’t always deserved.

Social media is quick to rip into someone who may have been a bad teammate or had off-court issues in the past. The beauty of ten-day contracts though is that you can bring Smith in, and if it doesn’t work out, he’s gone in under two weeks. Sign him up Neil!