Nuggets' J.R. Smith waits out playing time, future of team

"I'm in a tough situation," Smith said. "They don't really know what they want to do, as far as what direction they want to go in — if they do (trade) Melo or if they don't. So it's tough for me in my position because I don't know where I stand. So, you just have to keep playing it out and see how it looks."
"Everybody says they want to keep me here and all of that stuff, but I think everybody knows that if the right deal comes along, something will happen," he said. "So it's hard to say, when your superstar is about to be moved. For them, it's kind of hard to worry about my situation."

His preference is to stay put.

But throughout Smith's time in Denver there generally has been a disconnect between how Smith wants to play and how Nuggets coach George Karl wants Smith to play.

"I can't really play as free as I want to play, but I try to make due with what I got when I'm out there," Smith said. "Still, in the back of my mind, (I'm) trying to play how George wants me to play and how to play the way I know how to play. It's tough."

Karl has been pleased with Smith's play more this season than any other. Smith has been a catalyst on defense and has made the effort to lean toward what Karl and the coaching staff ask him to do in a reserve role. While Smith's minutes and points are down from a year ago, he's averaging a career high in rebounds (4.0) and his field-goal, 3-point and free-throw percentages are up from a year ago.

"Everybody knows I can play," Smith said. "I think it's just a matter of me being in the right situation, for whatever team I'm playing for or wherever I am. If I'm in the situation where I'm going to play 30 to 35 minutes, you're going to get 30- to 35-minute numbers out of me. If you play me 15 minutes, those are the type of numbers you're going to get."