Back in the summer, there was a Corey Maggette for J.R. Smith rumour circulating on the message boards. According to Jason Reid of the LA Times, the Nuggets would still like to see this deal happen.
Now, if you read the post directly prior to this one, you've already guessed where I stand on such a trade.
But, other than perhaps some wishful thinking on someone's part, there's just no way there's any truth to this. I thought I did a commendable job, back in August, of tracing and debunking this rumour the first time. I have no idea why it would be re-surfacing now.
But think about it: J.R. Smith was traded from the Hornets to the Bulls as a throw-in to the Tyson Chandler-P.J. Brown trade on July 14 (that's when the deal was official - it was announced long before that). Everyone knew that J.R. was never going to play for the Bulls. The Nuggets got him on July 20 for Howard Eisley (retired) and 2 second rounders. So if the Clippers were so hot for J.R. Smith, why didn't they make a play for him then? Does anyone seriously believe that they would trade Maggette for a guy they could have had for 2 second rounders? Has his stock gone up that much in pre-season?