Nolan Smith, likely playing in his final games with the Portland Trail Blazers, understands why fans often dream about how they could have had Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried.
Portland drafted Smith one pick ahead of Faried, who has blossomed this season, during the 2011 NBA Draft.
"I don't blame them," Smith said. "I don't blame them at all. Seeing what he's doing, seeing how he plays when he's on the court with his team, it's very easy to say, 'Damn, we could have had him.' But they could have had Michael Jordan, as well. It's part of the draft. They're mad at Greg Oden, too. So you can just add me to the guys they can be mad at."
Smith prefers not to dwell on his inability to catch on in Portland, but rather to focus on rediscovering his game and prove there is a place for him in the NBA.
"This is a business and things in this league happen in time," Smith said. "You have to get to a team where you're in their plans. That's one thing I'm looking forward to this summer in free agency. I'm going to get to a place that wants me, that wants me to be myself and play my game. If you think about it, there's no telling what would have happened with (Faried) if the Blazers drafted him. He might have been playing behind LaMarcus (Aldridge) and maybe his opportunity wouldn't have come. His opportunity in Denver didn't come until Nene got hurt. But Kenneth got an opportunity and Kenneth made the most of his opportunity -- in Denver. So now all the Portland fans can be mad."
