Thursday, February 16th, 2012 at 2:52 pm  |  74 responses

Report: Knicks Close to Signing JR Smith

With JR Smith finally back in the United States from China, the word is that he is likely to join the Linsanity. From the NY Daily News: “Jeremy Lin will soon have to learn to play with Carmelo Anthony, as well as one of Anthony’s former Denver Nuggets teammate. The Knicks are closing in on a deal to sign free agent shooting guard J.R. Smith, the Daily News has learned. Smith began the season in China, but has been eyeing a return to the NBA once the lockout ended. Smith’s agent, Leon Rose, met with Garden Chairman James Dolan following Wednesday’s Knicks’ win over Sacramento to finalize a contract. It is believed that Smith, who has also attracted the interest of the Clippers, will receive the Knicks’ $2.5 million exception. Rose also represents Anthony, who has lobbied the club to add Smith, an explosive scorer who can also be erratic at times. He has averaged 12.5 points per game over seven NBA seasons.”

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  • KH10

    Dear team chemistry,

    We regret to inform you that we no longer require your services.

  • AD

    jr wants to shoot like 20 shots a game thats why hahaha….

  • http://www.michaelcho.com M Cho

    So let me get this straight — they Knicks are winning right now because they’re sharing the ball and passing to the open man. And now they want to go and get one of the biggest ball stopping chuckers in the league? Yeaaaah….that sounds just like the Knick front office.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    Deark KH10, the Knicks regret to inform you, they’re still going to play TEAM basketball and be about winning not individual statistics. J.R. Smith’s perimeter shooting will really be a boost for the Knicks offense, and let’s not forget, he’s also a good on the ball defender.

  • Ryan

    Damnit JR! you had me thinking you were coming to the lakers :_(

  • robb

    IAMORANGE4EVER I hope you’re right. I’m not a knicks fan but I’d hate to see Melo and J.R. ruining the chemistry they have developed recently.

  • http://nba.com/celtics lights out

    he can really help them if they find a way to rein him in. if they can’t, he could be a disaster. then again, if that’s the case, they can just bench him, and all they would’ve lost is the money the spent on him, which is a lot worse than losing team chemistry.

  • Brahsef

    I really wouldnt call jr smith a ball stopper. He just jacks it as soon as he gets it.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    Still have a lot of work to do, and a lot of games to play in the regular season, but I love the Knicks chances come playoff time.

  • Ill Smith

    So the backcourt went from toilet water to Shao-Lin, JR, Fields, Shump & Diddy? Not to mention STAT, Melo, Tyson & Novak up front? The Knicks pullin off a top 4 seed doesnt seem as impossible as it did 2 weeks ago…

  • Heals

    ^^^Still just 1 ball…

  • DruNyce

    Anyone who watches basketball knows EVERYBODY in ‘Antoni’s offense has the green light to shoot the 3. (J.R.’s dream scenario) They need more 3pt shooters (other than Novak). Regardless of what your opinion is on Mike. There is one thing you can’t question. He WILL bench you in a heart beat if you don’t get with the program. Some where J.R.’s Dad is feeling like an idiot.

  • apache

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO that is not who the knicks need

  • Nate C

    Lin, Smith, Melo, Amare, & Chandler is better than any lineup D’antoni has ever had

  • patrick

    Shouldn’t the BUlls go for JR Smith? Rose is gonna get sooo tired in the playoffs..the Bulls didn’t get any better from last season at all imo..what a crappy job by there GM..could have gotten Stephen Jackson, Arenas, Barbosa, etc..

  • http://nyill.wordpress.com/ O

    This is a bad move. And not bad in ebonic terms which means good, but bad in the original sense of the word…

  • http://www.nba.com Red

    We got Rip, and when he’s healthy he’s a beast. Last I checked we’re #1 while battling injuries. We good

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    “We got RIP” …………..lol

  • Dirk Nowitzki’s Mane

    Can’t think of an insult stupid enough for JR Smith.

  • http://www.nicekicks.com Chris

    JR Smith is the definition of chucker, and god I love him for it. Makes any game interesting.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Now that JR Smith has decided on joining the Knicks to play alongside Melo/Amare, they form the most selfish set of players to ever play on one team. So…with the 13th pick in the 2012 Draft, the New York Knicks select…a second basketball.

  • Mariano

    I can’t believe someone in here said that JR was a good defender… Probably the laziest defender in the L

  • http://redoftoothandclaw.ca/ niQ

    I don’t know man, it was only 2 weeks ago that Casey Jacobsen wrote that article on Slam Online that JR Smith was the MOST selfish teammate he had ever played with…

  • Mike from Spain

    @Jtaylor imagine JR as SG and Kobe playing the SF in the same team…

  • http://Hoopshype.com/rumors Hossy

    They should sign JRs sister too. Reggie Evans type, a solid enforcer.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Mariano, Lazy defender? Yes. Good defender? Also yes.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    JTaylor21′s comments are so “PRICELESS.”

  • Mariano

    Well I’ve watched a lot of JR and I wouldn’t be able to tell you if he’s a good defender or not because I’ve never actually seen him play D

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    JR Smith has never ever ever ever ever ever been a good defender.

  • http://www.racialicious.com/2012/02/15/memewatch-adventures-in-linsanity/#more-20490 Allenp

    I don’t think the Amare, Melo JR trinity trumps the Melo, Iverson, JR triumvirate. Sorry. I watched those Nuggets games.

  • Ill Smith

    All this ‘only one ball talk’ means nada with a formidable PG in DAntoni’s system. You cats are just prone to hate without seeing the product 1st or even forming a sensible argument. Nash never had a problem finding STAT, Marion, QRich & Joe Johnson not to mention his own buckets. QRich ain’t do a damn thing but pull 3′s in the PHX days. Y’all mean to tell me JR can’t do the same (not to mention he’s one of the best slashers) & be successful? I’m not even a Knicks fan (just Melo) but you can’t deny this squad is stacked & ready to drop 150 if they catch the Bobcats or Wizards on the wrong night.

  • Mariano

    And how many championships did that PHX team with STAT, Marion, QRich & JJ win?

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    JTaylor21 I completely disagree with you regarding J.R. Smith’s abilities as a defender. I mean, do you just spit that stuff out after watching one play of J.R. Smith or something? How long does it take for you to form an opinion? rofl

  • LA Huey

    Ill Smith has a point. I was really looking forward to the comedy of errors that would ensue once JR joined the squad. But that was Before Lin. I hope JR and Melo are integrated smoothly.

  • http://idunkonthem.blogspot.com albie1kenobi

    Lin’s quote from the other post: “we’re going to find a way to become even more explosive offensively.”
    yup. no one cares about defense on the Knicks.
    you know who the unsung hero is during Lin’s amazing run? the very solid team defense. chandler will quickly foul out with the starting 5 of amare, melo, JR, and Lin.
    JR is only good as a bench player. anything more than that, he’s gonna take off more from the table than he put on it.

  • Heals

    @Ill, 1st ya’ll don’t have Nash in his prime so stop that talk, 2nd he was STAT then he’s only Amar’e now (still good, not ohh shht dominant), 3rd see Mariano, 5th Marion and Melo 2 way different styles from one another (Lockdown defender, slasher vs pure scorer), 6th Tyson albeit great at what he does isn’t nearly the multi-faceted weapon Diaw (at the that time people) was, 7th the fact JR chose NY over LAC shows what he wanted (shots and cash, can’t hate that) more than a title shot, 8th it ain’t hate it’s objectivity…

  • http://www.dimemag.com showtime

    A 13 pick in this pack draft. or bounce in the 1rst round??? which is better

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    JR, should go to Bulls or Lakers. Knicks do not need him. JR got to be nuts in his head to be added to that team just for a million more than Lakers. IF JR plays on Lakers or Bulls and lead as a starter, he MAKES WAY MORE MONEY IN LONG RUN!!

  • ibdb

    @heals…perfect post!

  • Ill Smith

    @Mariano Who said the Knicks were winning it all, I said a 4th seed. I still don’t think DAntoni’s way of ball translates to rings but it can get you some regular season wins.
    @Heals Even with no Amare the Knicks pulled off a 6 game win streak so watchusayin? & for what current Amare lacks & what Marion gave you Carmelo makes up for with the ability to score. & crazy as it sounds, if Lin can maintain half of what he’s done so far (let’s say 16 & 9) that’s equivalent to Nash’s MVP numbers. Regarding Tyson, if I remember correctly those Suns teams couldn’t get past San Antonio…who were led by a dominant big man. You mean to tell me whatever the hell Boris Diaw he was doing helped more than having a defensive big man wouldve back then? C’mon son. Again, I’m not a Knicks fan but a STAT/Melo/JR scoring nucleus being fed by Lin with Chandler behind them is a top 4 squad out East.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    5 of those 7 wins have been vs sub .500 teams.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Also one of those wins came against one of the worst road teams in the NBA (Jazz).

  • Matt Park

    JR is not only a lazy defender. He is bad. You need to be smart to be a good defender, and, by good defender, I also mean doing the little things. Is there a definite fastbreak on the other side? Foul him before he crosses halfcourt. Someone driving to the hoop preoccupied? Draw the charge. etc etc. JR will not do those things. He may be quick, but he reaches. He may have length, but he doesn’t play position correctly. He doesn’t rotate, he doesn’t make smart plays, and he doesn’t try. I don’t care if he is capable of what he is doing if he is going to do it. Like I’ve written (maybe) here before, he definitely has the ability but that means nothing if he’s shown time and time again that he simply will not.

  • Ill Smith

    @JTaylor21 While missing their 3 of their 4 best players (with J.R. in the mix now). It’s a 5 game gap between 8th place & 3rd place in the EC, stop acting like a 4 game leap is so damn impossible to achieve for a teamwith 36 games left.

  • Dan

    the best thing that could happen to the knicks this season would be that the clips sign jr smith. this guy is just a pain in the ass – offensively gifted with a loser mentality

  • vctmac

    ITS CONFIRMED, JR HAS SIGNED WITH NYK. http://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA
    check it out folks!!!
    on a side note, i wish he had signed with the bulls, a very good defensive system who need more firepower and slashing ability.

  • http://www.nba.com Red

    Orange it’s ok, my Bulls are #1, I’m enjoying my NBA Fan life.

  • l2ising Phoenix

    @Red , cool story bro.

  • Heals

    Gotta love SLAMonline, here’s Ill goin’ back n’ forth with folks arguing for a team he doesn’t necessarily root for. I diagree with ya, but props for defending your POV…

  • l2ising Phoenix

    We don’t need , J.r , fields is playing outta his mind, billy walker is contributing, I like the rotation the Knicks have. I have no idea how this scenario would work out, I’m guessing bill walker gets pushed back in the rotation. Unless J.r comes off the bench with b diddy , that would be a nice backcourt off the bench, with Novak & jeffries. Intimidating.

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