James meant verbal shot for Jackson

LeBron James said his belief that the Knicks should have drafted Dennis Smith Jr. wasn’t meant to slight Frank Ntilikina, though it was intended as a swipe at Phil Jackson.

“Oh yeah, it was definitely a shot at him,” James said Monday.

James said Saturday after playing in Dallas that Smith, whom James has known since Smith was in his early teens, should be a Knick. Ntilikina was chosen with the No. 8 pick in the draft, one spot before the Mavericks selected Smith.

“It’s no shade at Frank,” James said at the Cavs’ shootaround before their game against the Knicks. “I wasn’t even thinking about the kid when I was talking about Dennis Smith. I was thinking about the Knicks organization and Phil Jackson at the time.”

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