J.R. Smith Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Rumors: Smith Brothers, Bynum, Celtics

October 10th, 2012 at 6:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

It's been a busy day around the league today, especially for Atlantic Division teams. Here's a roundup of the latest.

Chris Smith, who needs patella tendon surgery that will keep him out for three to six months, isn't sure exactly how the injury happened, and had been confident he'd make the Knicks, he tells Mark Berman of the New York Post. Berman, who says there's speculation that Chris' older brother J.R. re-signed with the Knicks for less money on the condition Chris would make the team, reports coach Mike Woodson won't rule out keeping a roster spot open for the younger Smith. Still, such a move would be "highly unlikely," Berman says.
Sixers GM Rod Thorn emailed Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com to deny a report by Howard Eskin of Fox 29 in Philadelphia suggesting the Lakers withheld information about Andrew Bynum's condition before sending him to the Sixers. Bynum is recovering from a bone bruise in his left knee, but the big man says he thinks he'll be ready to play on opening night. Moore points out that Bynum passed a physical after the trade.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers is thinking about using three different starting lineups during the season, writes Mark D'Amico of Celtics.com.
Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal wonders which of the Knicks' multitude of aging veterans will hold up best.

Atlantic Updates: Knicks, Smith, Darko

October 9th, 2012 at 9:11pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news from the Atlantic Division on Tuesday evening:

Barbara Barker of Newsday tweets that Mike Woodson has not yet decided who will start at shooting guard for the Knicks this season, but that J.R. Smith is not in consideration.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com adds (via Twitter) that Ronnie Brewer, signed this summer, is a leading candidate for the starting job.
Rich Levine of CSNNE.com examines the impact that Darko Milicic could have on the Celtics this season.

Odds & Ends: Dirk, Smith, Johnson, Vucevic

October 5th, 2012 at 11:00pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening:

Dirk Nowitzki wants to play beyond the two seasons remaining on his contract, writes Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW.com.
J.R. Smith tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com that he would rather start than come off the bench for the Knicks this season.
Stefan Swiat of Suns.com writes that Wesley Johnson has looked strong in training camp. The third-year guard was acquired by Phoenix from the Timberwolves in a three-team deal in July.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel speculates that Nikola Vucevic, acquired from Philadelphia in the Dwight Howard trade, will replace Howard as the Magic's starting center.
Raptors coach Dwayne Casey tells Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun that he expects John Lucas to be a contributor this season.

Atlantic Links: Celts, Sixers, Moultrie, Smith

September 20th, 2012 at 11:00pm CST by Alex Lee

As if the Atlantic division didn't have a busy enough offseason, the Celtics were active again on Thursday . After waiving Keyon Dooling, who then retired, Boston signed Micah Downs to what is likely a non-guaranteed deal and gave guaranteed dollars to Darko Milicic. They now have 14 guaranteed roster spots and 19 total players in training camp. John Hollinger of ESPN gives his take, insider only, on the Celtics roster.

Surely, that couldn't have been it for the ever-changing Atlantic. Let's keep track of all the other links floating around on Thursday within the division:

We have detailed at great length the roster overhaul that the Sixers went through this offseason. John Hollinger of ESPN breaks down their new roster for the 2012-13 seasons (Insider access only).
Dei Lynam of CSN Philly looks at Andrew Bynum and Andre Iguodala, both of whom could be unrestricted free agents this offseason. Bynum seems like a good bet to re-sign in Philly, while the future of Iguodala, should he opt out, is far more difficult to predict.
The ankle injury that has hobbled Sixers first round pick Arnett Moultrie for most of the summer has not progressed as well as the team has hoped, reports John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Moultrie's effectiveness is heavily reliant on his athleticism, making it crucial for him legs to be at full strength as a rookie.
Jonathan Abrams examines the enigma that is Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith for Grantland. Smith is ultra-talented and has been productive, but for whatever reason has not been able to find a home.
Former Knick Stephon Marbury talked all things Knickerbockers with Ian Begley of ESPN New York. Marbury questions Amare Stoudemire's ability to thrive without Steve Nash, the ownership's motives in bringing in Carmelo Anthony and the potential of the team to advance in the playoffs.

J.R. Smith On Contract, Lin, Carmelo

September 15th, 2012 at 8:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Around this time last year, J.R. Smith was headed to play for Zhejiang Chouzhou in China, where he was off-limits to NBA teams for much of the season. He came back for the stretch run with the Knicks, and his performance was sufficient for him to turn down a $2.339MM option and re-sign with the team this summer on a two-year deal that gives him a raise, to $2.806MM this season. When Smith re-upped with the Knicks in July, Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors speculated that he might opt out again next summer, which his deal allows him to do, and take advantage of the Early Bird rights he will have earned with the Knicks to get yet another raise. The 26-year-old shooting guard spoke about his value as a player and touched on other topics with Josh Newman of SNY.tv. The entire piece is worth a read, but we'll run down Smith's comments here.

On his contract:

“I think anything is a bargain with me, whether I’m playing for a dollar or $20MM, it’s a bargain because I’m going to play hard no matter what. No matter how much I get paid, it will never affect how hard I play and I think that should be thought about when people see me next year.”

About Jeremy Lin:

“I was on the outside looking in waiting for my deal to get done during that whole thing and just see what pieces we would pick up instead of Jeremy Lin. We got some good pieces. Jeremy is a good player, he was good to me and I have nothing bad to say about him. I wish him the best of luck, but we’re gonna kick their ass next year.”

On playing with Carmelo Anthony:

“Me and Melo have been on the same team for the last six years and ever since we’ve been together, I feel like we’ve had a championship-caliber team. It’s just a matter going out there, passing the ball, playing defense and playing team basketball.”

Odds & Ends: J.R. Smith, Lakers, Nash

September 9th, 2012 at 7:04pm CST by Ryan Raroque

J.R. Smith is far from being a perfect player, but if there's anything to be said about what the Knicks guard lacks, confidence is not one of them. During a video interview with Tashara Jones of the New York Post at a fashion event this weekend, the 27-year-old Smith said "championship" when talking about the team's expectations for this season (Marc Raimondi of the New York Post reports). After being asked if it was a guarantee, Smith appeared confident in New York's chances against anyone: "In my eyes, yeah…Lakers, Heat, – whoever," also adding, "if we settle for anything less, we already start off losing." Here's what else we're hearing from the NBA tonight…

HoopsHype provided their NBA season preview of the Lakers, projecting them to finish with first place in the Pacific division and second in the Western Conference.
It appears that Lakers guards Steve Nash and Steve Blake are looking to prepare for the season as soon as possible, as Dave McMenamin of ESPNLA.com tweets that both have an evening workout with player development coach Phil Handy tonight.
Derek Page of HoopsWorld lists his top 5 playmakers heading into 2012-13. Steve Nash tops the list, followed by Rajon Rondo and LeBron James.

Odds & Ends: Wizards, Smith, Christmas, Brooks

August 5th, 2012 at 9:49pm CST by Alex Lee

Matt Moore and CBS Sports continued their offseason report series today by taking a look at the Washington Wizards. The Wizards haven't made the playoffs since 2008 and have been relatively irrelevant over that time period, but they raised some eyebrows in the offseason with a series of moves that should put them in position to contend for the playoffs this coming season.

Here are some other links and rumblings from this Sunday evening…

Josh Cohen from NBA.com addresses the Orlando Magic offseason by evaluating the importance of superstars in today's NBA, specifically mentioning how the Orlando franchise has thrived in recent history.
J.R. Smith, who signed a two year extension with the Knicks in July, said the team has the pieces in place to win it all in an interview with ESPN New York, Ian Begley writes. Smith also conveyed his pleasure on hearing the news that the Knicks signed his younger brother, Chris Smith on August 1.
Former Temple guard Dionte Christmas landed a partially guaranteed deal with the Celtics earlier this week. Greg Payne of ESPN Boston analyzed Christmas' prospects for the upcoming season with Boston and detailed his European journey that ended with his first NBA deal.
Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman writes that with the Thunder going cheap in free agency, the growth and development of head coach Scott Brooks will be of increased importance.

Jeremy Lin Rumors: Sunday

July 15th, 2012 at 9:59pm CST by Daniel Seco

The return of Jeremy Lin to the Knicks seemed to be more of a sure thing than Michael Jordan smoking a cigar on the golf course merely 24 hours ago. With the Knicks set to add Raymond Felton to their backcourt through a sign-and-trade with Portland, Lin's future in New York remains unclear. The Knicks have until 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday to make up their mind and will reportedly take the entire time allotted before announcing a decision. We'll keep track of all the latest rumors and news surrounding the offseason version of Linsanity with the latest news on top.

The New York Times' Howard Beck writes that a person with knowledge of the Knicks' situation said while it is "more likely than not" that they don't match the Rockets' offer, it is also "not definitive."
Carmelo Anthony is the latest to chime in on the offseason Linsanity. Anthony called the Rockets-Lin offer sheet "ridiculous" during an interview with reporters today, according to Yahoo's Marc Spears. Anthony also insisted that should the Knicks not match, it is not his doing. "It's up to ownership to match, not me," he said. "I'm tired of people trying to blame me for the fact that the Knicks might not match. I want everybody to get paid if they have the opportunity."
Ian O'Connor from ESPN New York gives his take on why the Knicks must match the Rockets' offer for Lin, saying that his stint of success last year, while brief, showed too much promise for the Knicks to not retain him.

Odds & Ends: Humphries, Pistons, Warriors, Celtics

July 13th, 2012 at 10:29pm CST by Michael Pina

Rick Bonnell from the Charlotte Observer tweets that the Nets may have offered Kris Humphries either a two-year, $20MM or a three-year, $26MM contract.

As summer league kicks off tonight in Las Vegas, here's some more news from around the league.

Knicks Re-Sign J.R. Smith

July 10th, 2012 at 11:38pm CST by Luke Adams

11:38pm: Smith has officially signed his two-year deal to remain in New York, tweets SI.com's Sam Amick.

12:03am: J.R. Smith and the Knicks have agreed to a contract that will bring Smith back to New York for at least one more year, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Smith will sign a two-year deal with a first-year salary of about $2.8MM and a second-year player option, according to Begley.