Hoops Habit
Fansided

New York Knicks: J.R. Smith’s Market Value Is…

By Michael Dunlap

Dec 23, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) during the first half of the game against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) during the first half of the game against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Jan 9, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) watches the final seconds of the game from the bench during the fourth quarter of a game against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. Smith didn
Jan 9, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) watches the final seconds of the game from the bench during the fourth quarter of a game against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. Smith didn /

I’m officially confused about the New York Knicks and J.R. Smith’s market value. Traditionally, if you want to trade a player, you’ve got to showcase him to the league. You’ve got to prove that he’s still got a lot left in the tank and can help a team with a need. Instead, the Knicks bench Smith (without telling him, no less) and let him seethe on the bench.

Smith even drew the ire of Adrian Wojnarowski, who is one of the league’s most respected writers. As the Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro once told me, “You can talk bad about players, as long as it’s true. They can’t argue about facts.” With that in mind, check out Adrian’s piece when you have a minute.

Back to the original question — what is Smith’s market value? Going back to this offseason, Smith thought he was going to hit the jackpot on the open market and was hit right in the face with cold reality. He ended up back with the Knicks on a three-year, $18 million contract that the league simply smiled at as if to say, “good for you guys…hope all that works out.”

Now, Smith has put up the worst per-game point average (11.3) since 2005-06 when he was with the New Orleans Hornets and averaged just 7.7 points. He’s shooting a horrific 34.8 percent from the field, which is the worst of his career. On top of that, he’s shooting 62.8 percent from the free-throw line. Go ahead and take a look at this beautiful shot chart:

J.R. Smith Shot Chart
Let’s just say Smith…isn’t exactly lighting it up this year. Photo Credit: NBA.com /

Oh, did I mention Smith also likes to do remarkably immature things on the court in an effort to…I can’t lie here — I have no clue what he’s thinking when he does this stuff. In the event you have no clue what I’m talking about, Smith decided it would be a good idea to reach down and untie his opponent’s shoes during a free-throw.

Did he do it once and get away with it? Yes, he did. Did he then do it a second time and get caught by the league and have a subtle brow-beating by his coach Mike Woodson? Yes, he did. Did he then try for it a third time, despite the $50,000 fine by the the NBA and numerous people slamming him all over social media? Yep, that’s your boy. Let’s take a look at some excellent video:

Yep, that’s Smith for you. So, are any teams willing to add a player like this? This is the NBA, so you have to know that there are teams out there willing to deal for Smith. As far as getting anything of value, I don’t think so. If the Knicks were willing to take the worst of it, they could unload Smith to a team that needs some bench help at the two or three…I know the Timberwolves, Warriors and Trail Blazers could use him.

Home/New York Knicks