J.R. Smith’s erratic behavior since elbowing then-Celtics guard Jason Terry’s face during the playoffs last season has pushed the Knicks to a breaking point. According to reports, last season’s Sixth Man of the Year is on the trading block.
Smith was suspended $50,000 this week for attempting to untie the shoes of opposing players for the second straight game. This incident is just the latest in a slew of bad moves by the streaky scorer. He signed a three-year contract and then elected to have knee surgery this offseason, only to serve a five-game suspension for using marijuana once he was healthy enough to play. He engaged in a brief, but nasty Twitter beef with Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, and then accused the Knicks of “betrayal” when they waived his brother Chris. While the latest shoe-tying incident is far from Smith’s most serious transgression, it appears the organization is tiring of his antics.
"I'm not happy about this, because he was warned, he comes back and he makes the same mistake, and it's not right," head coach Mike Woodson said. "It's just got to stop. I keep saying this every time something pops up, but it's got to stop." Woodson went on to talk about how Smith’s behavior is unbecoming of an NBA player.
According to Woodson, Smith has been "unprofessional about how he's approached this whole thing. Something's gotta be done. It has to stop. I'll address it tomorrow when I see him, and then we'll go from there."
As unhappy as the Knicks are, dealing Smith will be a chore. His production is down, his reputation is at an all-time low, and he will have two years left on his three-year, $18 million contract. He can’t be traded until January 15th either, because the team is over the salary cap and signed him for more than 120 percent of his previous salary. Smith has apologized via Twitter for behaving immaturely vs. the Mavericks and Pistons, but it might be too little too late.
Huge apologies to my team, to the league an most of all you the fans! #JRSmithSigningOff — JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) January 8, 2014
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