The JR Smith, Mike Woodson issue is about to come to a head.
Smith has appeared in two of Knicks last four games after being fined $50,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Smith also has two dnp-cd since then also, and now it appears that the mercurial shooting guard is ready to snap.
Smith and Woodson’s relationship at this point seems ruined, with Smith saying after last night’s ballgame that “communication from my end is over” with the Knicks.
Smith called his most recent benching ridiculous according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The J.R. Smith-Mike Woodson feud escalated Tuesday, putting the future of the Knicks’ sixth man under a dark cloud.
Smith didn’t play again, but this time the Knicks didn’t win again and afterward he called the whole thing “ridiculous.’’
Woodson’s latest sending-a-message-to-J.R. ploy backfired on a night the Knicks needed a spark. But Woodson stuck to his guns and benched Smith, and the team’s five-game winning streak ended in a 108-98 defeat to the Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Wednesday is the first day Smith can be traded under a quirk in the NBA bylaws for 2013 free agents, but a despondent Smith had his bags packed for Indiana and flew with the club. His future, however, is in question as a viable member of the team after being benched for the second time in four games.
The two men didn’t leave their quotes there either.
“For [the sneakers] to be the trigger point and for all this to happen is ridiculous,’’ Smith said in the quiet of the Knicks’ locker room.
Asked if he wanted to be traded, Smith said, “I’m not worried about that. I’m trying to fix what’s going on here.’’
Woodson, who sat Smith on Thursday in the win over the Heat, wouldn’t reveal what went into his latest decision to bench Smith after playing him in Philadelphia on Saturday and against the Suns on Monday.
“I’m not even commenting on J.R.,’’ Woodson said. “I just didn’t play him tonight, just didn’t play him.’’
When asked if Smith would play in Indiana on Thursday, Woodson said, “I’m not commenting on that.’’