J.R. Smith Rumors | Hoops Rumors

J.R. Smith To Decline Option, Likely To Re-Sign

June 4th, 2013 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

Back in April, a report suggested that J.R. Smith was "very, very likely" to opt out of the second year of his two-year contract with the Knicks. Today, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com confirms that's indeed the case, reporting that Smith will officially announce his decision to turn down his player option prior to the June 30th deadline. According to Zwerling though, the Sixth Man of the Year is "likely" to re-sign with the Knicks.

Using the Early Bird exception, the Knicks will be eligible to sign Smith to a contract for up to four years, starting at an amount worth 104.5% of the average salary. That exact figure won't be known until July, but it will be in excess of $5MM, so Smith could guarantee himself a total payday in excess of $20MM if he and the Knicks were to agree to a long-term deal.

Even with Jason Kidd no longer in the picture, the Knicks won't have the cap flexibility to sign Smith to amount greater than the Early Bird exception will allow, meaning rival suitors with cap space would be able to outbid the Knicks. Still, Smith has thrived since arriving in New York and appears to love playing (and living) in the Big Apple, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him turn down a larger offer to return to the Knicks.

If Smith had decided to exercise his player option, he'd have earned $2,932,742 in 2013/14 before gaining full Bird rights in the summer of 2014.

Knicks GM Talks Cap, Prigioni, Copeland, Kidd

May 21st, 2013 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald spoke to the media today, reflecting on a Knicks season that ended with a second-round loss to the Pacers and looking ahead to the team's plans for the coming summer. A number of New York reporters, including Al Iannazzone of Newsday, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, Marc Berman of the New York Post, and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, passed along a few of Grunwald's more notable comments, so let's round them up:

The Knicks will focus on continuing to build and add to their core group, but won't be able to acquire anyone via sign-and-trade, says Grunwald (Twitter link). That rules out the pursuit of a top free agent like Chris Paul.
New York will have access to the taxpayer mid-level exception rather than the full $5.15MM MLE, and Grunwald says the club may have to dip into it to match offer sheets for restricted free agents Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland (Twitter link).
Despite the team's limited cap flexibility, Grunwald is confident the team can be "creative" when it comes to adding talent, noting that the Knicks "have some ideas" for what can be done (Twitter link).
After speaking to Jason Kidd, Grunwald is confident the veteran point guard will be back next season, as opposed to retiring (Twitter link).
Grunwald declined to comment on J.R. Smith's free agency, but added: "I don’t think you should read that one way or another" (Twitter link).
Although Grunwald was disappointed by the way the Knicks' season ended, he stressed that he likes the team and is excited about its future (Sulia link).

Atlantic Notes: Colangelo, Raps, Copeland, Knicks

May 21st, 2013 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have scheduled a pair of conference calls this morning, one with MLSE president/CEO Tim Leiweke and one with Bryan Colangelo, who appears to be taking on a new non-basketball role with the franchise. While we await word on Colangelo's official title, let's check in on a few other notes related to the Raptors' front office changes and related to one of Toronto's division rivals….

The Raptors' top target to replace Colangelo as the head of basketball operations, Masai Ujiri, isn't going to talk to Leiweke before Wednesday, says Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Smith also suggests that if the Raptors miss out on Ujiri, they should try to convince current advisor Wayne Embry to become the team's new president.
Bruce Arthur and Eric Koreen of the National Post each provide retrospectives for Colangelo's tenure as the Raptors' general manager.
A few days after Chris Copeland's agent said that money would be an important factor in free agency this summer, Copeland stressed that he's "never chased the highest bidder," as Mark Hale of the New York Post details. "I love it here [with the Knicks]," Copeland said. "The finances play a part, but I have a lot of emotional ties here that it would be harder for me to break."
In his latest piece for the New York Post, Marc Berman touches on the contract situations for a number of Knicks players. The highlights: Tyson Chandler says he's not sure whether or not Jason Kidd will continue his playing career, while Carmelo Anthony expresses a desire to see J.R. Smith re-sign with the team.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Colangelo, Bulls

May 19th, 2013 at 10:56pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Knicks season ended last night when the Pacers defeated them in Indiana to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks were the oldest team in NBA history for the 2012/13 season, and they have a lot of offseason decisions to reach in lieu of their loss to the Pacers.

The first such decision concerns the 2013 Sixth Man of the Year, J.R. Smith. Smith recently reiterated his desire to remain in a Knicks uniform next year despite the popular consensus he'll opt out of the contract that will pay him $2.9MM next season. He tweeted about wanting to return (Twitter link) today as SheridonHoops.com's Ben Baroff pointed out. But Smith isn't the only question mark as the Knicks head into the offseason after their best playoff performance in more than a decade.

Despite a postseason showing that saw them get out of the first round for the first time since the 1999/00 season, Howard Beck at the New York Times writes that with very little cap flexbility, the Knicks' window for continued postseason magic may have run out.
Ian Begley at ESPNNewYork.com brings readers through five pressing issues the Knicks face this summer, including what to do with Amar'e Stoudemire, who didn't start a single game this season after Carmelo Anthony agreed to play power forward in Mike Woodson's small-ball lineup. Begley also discusses whether the Knicks will continue to go small next season.
One of the injuries hampering Knicks franchise star Carmelo Anthony this postseason, was his left shoulder. Frank Isola of New York Daily News says Anthony will have his injured left shoulder examined.
Another Eastern Conference team that was eliminated in the conference semifinals, the Bulls, are looking to get healthy this offseason while figuring out what to do in free agency, writes Aggrey Sam at CSNChicago.com. The free agency questions center around their backcourt, since Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli are free agents this summer and the Bulls are not likely to pick up Richard Hamilton's $5MM option next year, but will have to pay him the $1MM that's guaranteed.
Aggrey Sam at CSNChicago.com also writes that the Bulls' draft picks, they hold the 20th and 49th overall selections this June, could be a lot better than expected in what is considered a down draft year. A lot of players predicted to be selected in the later rounds of the draft performed well in Chicago's predraft combine this past week.
Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun, says it's time for Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo to go, and with reports the Raptors are pursuing current Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri, the end appears close for Colangelo. The Raptors are expected to make a decision about their future general manager some time tomorrow after Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reported the Raptors have until Monday to exercise or decline their option on Colangelo for the 2013/14 season.

Eastern Notes: Smith, Hawks, Thibodeau

May 8th, 2013 at 10:15pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the NBA's Eastern Conference.

Even as he goes through a terrible slump, Knicks head coach Mike Woodson can't afford to sit J.R. Smith, his Sixth Man of the Year award winner, writes Newsday's Jim Baumbach. Smith is a free agent this summer, and it'll be interesting to see if his poor play in the playoffs will have an impact on his price tag.
Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins believes Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau is the best in the NBA, per CommercialAppeal.com's Ron Higgins. His words come out a day after Nuggets head coach George Karl was named Coach of the Year.
Hoopsworld.com's Bill Ingram writes about the Hawks, a team that should be one of the most active this summer, given their cap space, draft picks, and free agents.

Odds & Ends: J.R. Smith, Celtics, Davis, Jack

April 28th, 2013 at 12:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

J.R. Smith is likely to opt out of his deal for next season with the Knicks, and once he does, he'll be looking for a long-term deal, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. While Smith's comments suggest he'd favor the Knicks over other teams, New York can't do any better than a four-year deal worth about $25MM, since they only have his Early Bird rights. As our Ryan Raroque surmised when he looked at Smith's free agent stock, the Sixth Man of the Year will be able to command a hefty raise on his $2.8MM salary this season. We'll soon find out whether the Knicks' best offer will be enough.

Washburn has more on the NBA as part of his weekly column, and we'll round that up along with other Sunday afternoon tidbits here:

Washburn gets former NBA executive Tom Penn's take on the future of the Celtics, and hears from Glen Davis of the Magic, who says he's willing to stick it out through the team's rebuilding process.
Jarrett Jack is adamant that he'll prioritize a return to the Warriors in free agency this summer, even if it means passing up the opportunity to become a starter elsewhere, as he tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Bucks center Joel Przybilla saw a total of just 68 minutes this season, but he says he's healthy and believes he can still play in the NBA next season, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Shooting guard Trey Johnson and Italian club Angelico Biella have parted ways, Sportando's Emiliano Carchia reports (Twitter link). Johnson appeared in 11 games with the Pelicans in 2011/12, and has also spent time with the Cavaliers, Raptors and Lakers.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress already had Giannis Adetokunbo on his list of early entrants for the draft, as did we, and agent Giorgos Dimitropoulos confirms the Greek swingman has officially declared, Givony tweets.

Free Agent Stock Watch: J.R. Smith

April 25th, 2013 at 7:35pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Among those who have helped keep the Knicks afloat during their bout with injuries this season was J.R. Smith, the only player on the team's roster to have played in 80 games this year. The 27-year-old New Jersey native arguably became the team's most important offensive weapon when Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire were inactive. With recent rumblings that Smith is likely to opt out at season's end, the winner of the NBA's 2012-13 Sixth Man of the Year award will undoubtedly enter the summer an entirely different commodity than he did nearly one year ago.

The Knicks saw significant roster changes during the 2012 offseason, including the departure of starting shooting guard Landry Fields. Though Smith entered training camp with his eyes on an opportunity to earn a starting position (ESPN NY), head coach Mike Woodson ultimately decided it was best to bring him off the bench, a role which the enigmatic shooting guard accepted and consistently thrived in. Other than the Clippers, the Knicks were the only other team in the NBA to feature a two-guard reserve as their second leading scorer, with Smith averaging a career-high 18.1 PPG. The 6'6 guard had also been an important contributor in other areas, averaging 5.3 RPG (also a career high) and 1.3 steals per game.

Interestingly enough, Smith made around $2.8MM this season, which was less than the annual contracts of Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton, Marcus Camby, and Steve Novak (in addition to Anthony, Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler). With a player option of $2.9MM next year, it was no surprise to hear talk that Smith plans to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Despite Smith's recent statement that he'd love to retire as a Knick, the possible financial overtures from other teams during the upcoming offseason may be too lucrative to pass up at this point in his career.

We've already mentioned New York's Early Bird rights on Smith, which would allow them to offer at least a two-year contract starting at 104.5% of this year's average salary. With that being said, there are more than a handful of teams from both conferences expected to have significant cap room this summer. Though June's draft could considerably play a role in determining team needs heading into free agency, a franchise like the Suns – who struck out last summer in their pursuit of Eric Gordon – could jump at the opportunity to land a scorer like Smith.

For his position and role as a scorer compared to several other prominent scoring wings in the league, an offer starting at around $5MM from the Knicks would be easy for teams with ample cap room to outbid. Looking at J.R's season averages more closely (18.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 33.3 MPG) and comparing that to Rudy Gay (16.1/6.1/2.7/35.8) and Joe Johnson (16.5/3.5/3.0/36.7), Smith has certainly made a case to earn the biggest contract of his career, considering the latter two are currently signed to max-contracts. While I'm not advocating that Smith receive a max-deal, his next contract should indubitably be more than what he has been earning over the last two seasons.

In March, Smith averaged 22.1 PPG and 6.0 free throw attempts per game while shooting 44.2% from the field and 34.5% from long distance. In April, he averaged 22.0 PPG, 4.5 FTA, and shot 48.3% overall along with 40.0% from deep. Smith's production over the final two months of the season was very impressive, considering New York's 13-game winning streak and 16-2 finish over the remaining 18 games to help clinch the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The notable increase in his presence as a scoring threat can be majorly attributed to his focus on attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line in addition to a more disciplined shot selection (as Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld chronicled last month).

Though we've yet to see how he'll continue to perform for the rest of the postseason, Smith can market himself as having played the best regular season of his career. Set to turn 28 in September, the New Jersey native is settled into his NBA prime and has shown the ability to be an important and efficient contributor on a 50-plus win team. While I wouldn't necessarily label him among the summer's big fishes in free agency, he's definitely a significant one whether he remains in New York or decides to change addresses.

Pacific Notes: Jackson, Howard, Lakers, Barkley

April 25th, 2013 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Last week, a report suggested that former Lakers coach Phil Jackson was interested in returning to an NBA role for next season. While it doesn't sound as if any of the current head coaching openings are enticing enough to attract the 11-time champion, Jackson confirmed that he has interest in a comeback.

Speaking to Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle (hat tip to HoopsHype), Jackson said he's talked to three or four teams and that "there are some interesting situations that are presenting themselves." However, according to Jackson, those discussions involve potential front-office roles rather than coaching positions.

While we wait to see if anything comes of Jackson's talks with NBA teams, let's check in on a few notes from around the Pacific Division:

With the Lakers two losses away from elimination, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com looks ahead to the summer and identifies teams that could be fits for Dwight Howard if he considers leaving L.A. in free agency.
According to Earl Smith, J.R. Smith's father, his son turned down a "superior offer" from the Lakers last summer to sign with the Knicks, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Given the Lakers' cap situation, it's unlikely that L.A. could have made a much better offer than New York, unless it involved some sort of sign-and-trade component.
Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com examines Vinny Del Negro of the Clippers and Lionel Hollins of the Grizzlies, two coaches who could be on the hot seat if their teams don't advance out of the first round.
Bob Young of the Arizona Republic isn't sure that Charles Barkley knows what he's getting into if he geniuinely wants to be the Suns' GM, but suggests that Phoenix's current list of candidates for the spot isn't exactly inspiring.

J.R. Smith Likely To Opt Out

April 24th, 2013 at 11:36am CST by Luke Adams

Coming off a career-best season and a Sixth Man of the Year award, J.R. Smith will have the option of hitting free agency this summer, and it sounds like he'll take advantage of that opportunity. Moke Hamilton of SheridanHoops.com hears from a source close to Smith that the Knicks shooting guard is "very, very likely" to turn down his 2013/14 option and become a free agent.

Because New York only held Smith's Non-Bird rights last offseason, the team was only able to sign him to a contract that started at about $2.81MM this season. That makes Smith's player option for '13/14 worth only about $2.93MM, a figure he could easily exceed on the open market.

As we explained earlier today, and as Hamilton details in his piece, the Knicks will hold Smith's Early Bird rights this summer, meaning the team will be able to offer him a deal of up to four years, starting at a salary that figures to be in the neighborhood of $5.5MM. That will exceed the amount of the mid-level exception, meaning the Knicks should be able to outbid over-the-cap teams, though Smith could receive stronger offers from clubs with cap room.

Still, Smith has frequently expressed a desire to remain in New York, suggesting on Monday that he'd like to retire as a Knick. He was willing to accept a below-market salary to stay with the team last summer, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him do it again this year.

J.R. Smith ‘Would Love To Retire A Knick’

April 22nd, 2013 at 7:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

J.R. Smith, fresh off winning the Sixth Man of the Year award today, figures to be in high demand if he declines his $2.933MM player option for next season. Other teams will be able to give Smith more money on a new contract than the Knicks could, since the team only possesses Early Bird rights on him, but Smith said on ESPN's SportsCenter today that he would like to stay in New York, as Jared Zwerling and Ian Begley note.

"Without a doubt," the 27-year-old swingman said. "I was born in New Jersey, born and raised. I would love to retire a Knick."

This time of year, it's common for free agents to express their desire to remain with their current teams, only to reverse course in the summer. It's noteworthy, though, that Smith insists he doesn't want to go elsewhere since he could make more money if he signs with a team that has ample cap room, unlike many other free agents who have financial incentive to stay put.

The Knicks have commitments that would almost certainly make them a taxpaying team next season, so the best they could do for Smith would be to use his Early Bird rights to give him 104.5% of this season's average salary. The average salary won't be known until the league finalizes its books in July, but it's currently estimated to be $5.276MM. If that figure holds, the most the Knicks could pay Smith next season would be $5,513,420. The contract would be limited to raises of no more than 7.5%, so the Knicks couldn't backload their offer.

Smith could probably command offers of around $8MM or $9MM annually from other teams, though that's just my speculation. Still, Zwerling and Begley point out that Smith has received more endorsement opportunities in New York, and he's certainly played better with the Knicks than in his previous stops with the Pelicans and Nuggets.