The J.R. Smith drama watch continues.
Just when you thought Smith's feud with coach New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson had at least simmered, tensions are again at a fever pitch levels after Woodson benched the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year Award winner for the second time in four games Wednesday night.
On a night when the surging Knicks could have used a spark, Smith never stepped foot on the Time Warner Cable Arena floor, as the Charlotte Bobcats ended the Knicks' winning streak at five games with a 108-98 win.
"For all this to happen is ridiculous," the veteran swingman who recently ticked off the Knicks and the league for attempting to untie the sneakers of Dallas' Shawn Marion and Detroit's Greg Monroe during live game action told the New York Post after the game. "I hadn't the slightest clue," he added about why he didn't play."I'm just worried about getting better. If I don't play, I go to the weight room or the court to get shots up.''
With all that's happening behind the scenes, one has to wonder just how much longer he may be doing any of that for the Knicks. The Post reports Wednesday is the first day the team can deal Smith under a quirk in the NBA bylaws for 2013 free agents. The newspaper adds Smith also drew the ire of Knicks owner James Dolan when he recently went on a rant about how the organization had "betrayed" him by waiving his younger brother, Chris Smith.
Asked if he now wanted to be traded, J.R. Smith told The Post "I'm not worried about that. I'm trying to fix what's going on here." He later added "I'll figure out what I can do better to help this team and go from there. If I can't help the team, no point in me being here.''
Meanwhile, Woodson remained mum as to what went into his latest decision to bench the volatile Smith. "I'm not even commenting on J.R.,'' he told reporters. "I just didn't play him tonight, just didn't play him.''
Woodson later told The Post he wasn't sure if he would play Smith when the Knicks visit the division-leading Indiana Pacers on Thursday.
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