KNOT AGAIN!
With Dolan’s patience wearing thin, J.R. pulls shoelace stunt at club
J.R. Smith’s future with Knicks is in doubt as source tells The News Jim Dolan is irate with season full of antics by childish guard, who takes LaceGate to new level after Thursday benching, allegedly partying at club (inset) and pretending to untie patron’s shoes.
JAMES DOLAN was lurking inside the Knicks’ locker room late Thursday, presumably plotting the next course of (disciplinary) action for J.R. Smith.
To bench or not to bench, that is a question only Dolan, the chairman of Madison Square Garden, can answer. Of course, the fact that the franchise player, Carmelo Anthony, has already gone on record as saying “I need” Smith on Saturday against the Sixers in Philadelphia could influence Dolan’s decision.
Smith was benched for Thursday’s 10292 victory over the M ia m i He at , t he K nicks’ most i mpressive win of the season, on a night when Smith’s status once again took center stage. Neither Smith nor his teammates were aware that Smith would not play. Plus, the fact that Mike Woodson never articulated the plan to Smith suggests that Dolan was behind the benching.
It’s ha rd to argue w ith Dolan’s logic: Smith has been more of a sideshow this season and the Knicks felt compelled to send a message, especially in light of some of Smith’s recent antics, including pretending to untie a patron’s shoe at a Manhattan nightclub, as reportedly captured in a photo posted by Deadspin.
The Knicks, including Dolan and Woodson, were not pleased that Smith pretended to untie Detroit’s Greg Monroe’s sneakers Tuesday after receiving a warning from the league for untying Shawn Marion’s sneakers in Sunday’s win over Dallas.
Smith was fined $50,000 by the NBA for repeated unsportsmanlike offenses.
But according to a source, Smith got on Dolan’s bad side days earlier for his response — both privately and publicly — to the club releasing Smith’s younger brother, Chris. The Smith brothers were called into a meeting with
Woodson and team president Steve Mills and informed of the move. The elder Smith did not take the news well and expressed his frustration first behind closed doors and then via Instagram when he referred to being betrayed.
Dolan did not appreciate the post, especially since he signed Ch r is Sm it h to a $500,000 guaranteed contract just mont hs a fter signing J.R. Smith to a three-year deal wor th approximately $18 million. Smith’s behav ior on the road trip ranged from bizarre to embarrassing, accentuated by his decision to shoot a 3-pointer in a loss to Houston with the game tied and the shot clock turned off. Smith con fessed to mistakenly believ ing that the K nicks were t railing by two when he l aunched the wide-open shot with 17 seconds left in the game. Two nights later, he was caught on camera untying Marion’s sneakers. Once television cameras caught Smith pretending to untie Monroe’s sneakers — a joke gone bad, Smith called it — the league stepped in and levied the fine. Reports surfaced that the Knicks were actively shopping Smith although the same source claims that the Knicks started making the calls not too long after Mills called the Smith brothers in for a meeting.
On Thursday, Smith admitted that his future in New York is tenuous, to say the least. History suggests he’s right. Nate Robinson got on the bad side of both Dolan and Mike D’Antoni and was benched for 14 games before famously escaping the doghouse with a memorable performance on Jan. 1, 2010, against the Atlanta Hawks. One month later, Robinson was traded to Boston.
Stephon Marbury also ran afoul of D’Antoni and Dolan and was eventually exiled. Smith’s situation is slightly different because of his close relationship with Woodson, who willingly accepted credit for Smith becoming the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year last season. Woodson was testy with the media before the game against the Heat when asked about Smith. Even afterward, Woodson wouldn’t discuss Smith’s status.
The confusion, the silence and the behind-the-scenes maneuvering all point to Dolan, who spent Thursday’s game seated next to the actress Katie Holmes, just 15 feet away from Smith. There is a small army of ex-Garden employees who have gotten on Dolan’s bad side and were never heard from again.
The photo posted on Deadspin of Smith clowning around at a nightclub doesn’t help his case. He is destined to become another Dolan casuality unless a certain powerful teammate steps in.
“He’s good,” Anthony said of Smith. “Mentally he’s good. Probably, he’s upset today that he didn’t play. Mentally he should be good. It’s not life or death. Things happen, Situations happen. We move on. I need him Saturday in Philly.”