You can take the JR Smith out of the #KnicksTank.
But you can’t take the #KnicksTank out of the JR Smith.
Shades of Knicks vs Celtics Round 1 Game 4 from 2013, when JR, with a 3-0 lead in Boston, got ejected for elbowing Jason Terry for no reason. That was EXACTLY two years ago today.
History repeats itself.
The Knicks have traded JR Smith and Iman Shumpert according to reports. A three-way deal with the Knicks, Thunder, and Cavaliers appears to involve some mix of Smith, Shumpert, Samuel Dalembert, Lou Amundson, Dion Waiters, Reggie Jackson, and probably more. More details to follow, but it appears that JR Smith (And his $7 Million player option for next year) is out of New York, and probably on his way to team up with LeBron, Love, and Kyrie in Cleveland. More recent reports have Shumpert (Who the Knicks were expected to lose as a free agent after this season) in the deal as well. Reggie Jackson is now expected to go to the Knicks in the deal. -Tommy Rothman
UPDATE: It is now unclear if Jackson is in the deal. However, Samuel Dalembert IS in the deal.
*Story will be updated*
JR Smith has said and done some pretty questionable things over the years. So we shouldn’t be surprised when he goes off the wagon now and then. But his quote about defense after the Knicks’ loss to the Pistons on Friday was, well, impressively strange. Here’s what JR had to say:
“If you don’t get offended by somebody scoring on you then I don’t know what to tell you. That is like somebody breaking into your house and just taking your video game out of your hand and you just let it happen. I know if you do that to me, it ain’t going to happen. I love my Xbox.”
JR Smith might claim to love his Xbox, but given that defense is one of the weaker parts of his game, I suspect he’s more of a PlayStation guy…
-Tommy Rothman
The NBA has suspended JR Smith after he hit Glen Rice Junior in the “groin” (yes, that means balls) in Tuesday night’s Knicks-Wizards game. Smith, who was suspended for five games last year after failing a drug test, will only be forced to miss one game this time around, at least as far as the NBA is concerned. As such, JR will not play in Wednesday night’s game against the Pistons (whose point guard, Brandon Jennings, was the recipient of hostile tweets from Smith which led to JR receiving a $25,000 fine last season). -Tommy Rothman
The GIF of the hit is below
Looks like there won’t be a Glen Rice III, am I right?
The triangle is more complicated than I thought.
^The moment before the crime
Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith will head to the Barclays Center on August 21st to take part in the Roc Nation Summer Classic Charity Basketball Game. The two teams, captained by Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and former Yankee (and current Seattle Mariner) Robinson Cano, will square off to raise money for the PitCCh In Foundation (Sabathia) and the RC22 Foundation (Cano). Melo and reigning MVP Kevin Durant will be the honorary captains, and several other big names will star in the event, such as Derek Jeter, Dellin Betances, Felix Hernandez, Rudy Gay, DJ Khaled, Ne-Yo, Victor Oladipo, Fernando Rodney, Jay Williams, CHarlie Villanueva, DJ Clue, Jazmine Fenlator, Kendrys Morales, Endy Chavez, and Angie Martinez. All proceeds from the event will go to charity.
How will money be raised through the event? Roc Nation has partnered with IfOnly and is offering several incredible “experience” packages for people who want to take part in the event. People can sign up to be a judge in the halftime slam dunk contest, or sign up to be an Assistant Coach for one of the teams. Parents can also sign their kids up to be a Ballboy at the event, and watch the game from under the hoop while assisting the players as they put on a show for the crowd. Each package comes with premium tickets to the event.
Again, all proceeds go to charity, so Melo and JR are breaking their schedules for a good cause. Things won’t be as friendly when they head to the Barclays Center during the season, of course…
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