New York Knicks: Time To Let J.R. Smith Go?
By Owen Sanborn
The tale of J.R. Smith with the New York Knicks has its share of peaks and valleys. His talent is unquestioned, while his decision making has lots of questions.
He is notorious for finding any way to gain a competitive advantage; even if it is at the mercy of not one, not two, but THREE perfectly tied shoes, or the an opposing player’s “man region.” Let’s all pour one out for Glen Rice Jr. for that one.
After arriving in the Big Apple prior to the lockout shortened 2011-12 season, Smith averaged a respectable 12.5 points per game while coming off of the bench. Although he had his issues in the past, the marriage between him and the ambiance of Madison Square Garden appeared to be one that may have some traction.
Smith thrives on the energy of the crowd, causing him to undergo random shooting explosions and give us all great moments such as this immaculate windmill number after a buzzer-beating three.
Smith followed his promising 2011-12 campaign by winning the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2012-13, averaging 18.1 ppg and earned a three-year, $18 million contract in the process. All was well between Smith and the Knickerbockers, until the dreaded 2013-14 campaign.
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This is when the aforementioned shoelace untying took place and Smith took a turn for the worst amongst his teammates and fans.
The Knicks, once seen as shrewd for signing J.R. to reasonable contract, now were in possession of one of the wackiest players in the NBA and a contract that only a monkey might trade for (NBA General Managers are way too smart nowadays).
The most passionate Knick fans and media members have been calling for Phil Jackson and company to deal Smith for the past few months now. Ian O’Connor, of ESPN New York, talked about how Jackson should approach trading away Smith in a recent column:
"“If Jackson’s out there trying to trade Smith, he’s not trying hard enough. The Knicks’ president doesn’t have to convince 29 teams that Smith is a gamble worth taking; he needs to convince only one.”"
Further down the column, O’Connor quotes a high-ranking league executive that explains the kind of circumstances that would have to take place in order for a team to go after Smith.
"“J.R. has had a lot of issues but he can be a big-time scorer when he’s doing the right things. There’s always a team out there willing to take a chance on somebody if they feel he can put them over the top, and there’s no doubt J.R. can play. People are going to be concerned about chemistry issues in the locker room, so it would have to be a strong leadership and coaching staff that take him in.”"
I agree with both of these men that trading Smith is not an impossible venture, especially with the rise of the salary cap looming. Six million per season is going to be chump change in the new age NBA.
However, with the rise of analytics and the presence of savvier GM’s, it is going to be a tall task. Why would a team like the Indiana Pacers (who dealt with their own wacky player last season in Lance Stephenson) want to deal for a player that is a career 42 percent shooter and could blow up a locker room with the snap of a finger?
I just don’t really see a fit for Smith throughout the league, no matter how persistent Jackson is with rival GM’s during trade talks. The only way I envision a trade happening is if the Knicks were to attach a future first round pick to J.R. and dangle him to an asset hungry team with cap space like Philly. But, Phil has wisely been adamant on holding onto first round picks as if they were one of his eleven rings.
The most likely conclusion to this bitter marriage will be the Knicks eating the rest of Smith’s contract (he has a $6,399,750 million player option for next season) and suffer the consequences. The window for New York to be a title contender will be contingent on the recruitment of big name free agents like Rajon Rondo and Marc Gasol (a perfect fit for the triangle) or perhaps the 50 to 1 shot that Kevin Durant (remember, he loves Derek Fisher) makes the leap to the Big Apple.
Smith’s presence will not be necessary.
Wait … can you guys feel that wind?
