In an in-depth piece from ESPN.com, Phil Jackson gave some insight into why he broke up the Knicks by dealing away J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert last season.
Jackson spoke about Smith as a “delinquent” — who walked around with a “dark cloud over his head.” Jackson wasn’t done there, speaking on how difficult it really is to deal with Iman Shumpert in a locker room setting.
Shumpert was next in line. “After he suffered a hip injury in Dallas, his game went rapidly downhill. Did he have any other issues to explain his decline? He said, ‘No. I don’t know what has gone wrong with my game.’ As with J. R., nothing got resolved.”
Shumpert was another problem. “I like Shump,” says Jackson, “but he has a very loud, big personality. It was difficult for most of the other guys to deal with, especially if things don’t go well for him or the team.”
Shumpert is somewhat of a mercurial personality, and likely sways depending on how his game is going or love life is rolling as well.
At that point, Jackson decide to gut the lineup.