JR Smith, His Bum Brother, And The Knicks On The Verge Of 4 Year Extension

I will be back next season along with my big brother @therealjrsmith … Will be a blessing to wear my Knicks uniform.. Prep for 2014 is now

— Chris Smith (@3_ChrisSmith) May 19, 2013

NY Post - The J.R. Smith/Chris Smith package deal is shaping up. The Post has learned point guard Chris Smith, J.R. Smith’s brother who injured his knee during Knicks training camp, has fired his agent, Marc Cornstein, and will hire J.R.’s rep, CAA superagent Leon Rose, who also handles Carmelo Anthony. J.R. Smith is expected to opt out of his contract and re-sign with the Knicks in a four-year deal starting at about $5 million because the Knicks own his early-Bird rights rules. The Knicks could be outbid for J.R. Smith by an under-the-cap team, though it’s unlikely considering his playoff flop. But having Chris Smith as part of the package has convinced the Sixth Man of the Year he wants to stay. After the Game 6 loss Saturday, the embattled Smith said “I want to retire a Knick.’’

Oh. Good. Not only do we get 4 more years of JR Smith, but we get his brother too! Its a 2 for 1 package with the Smith brothers! What a steal! We get one mediocre, streaky, off the court liability AND his scrub brother who is undoubtedly a bad influence for just 20 million bucks.

Truth be told, JR Smith at 5 mil a year is not a bad buy. I’d prefer something more like 2 years though. When he’s hot he’s worth plenty more than that annual salary. When he’s cold and being an absolute asshole off the court, hes one of the last guys I want on my team at all. More importantly though, you gotta think big picture here. Is JR Smith the key to this team winning an NBA title? Or, realistically, challenging the Miami Heat for the East? Right now the NBA is shaping up in 2 different ways – 1) You have a couple superstars and surround them with role players (i.e. Heat, Thunder, Bulls with D Rose, although that may never be the same. Warriors could be shaping up this way with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson) 2) Complete teams, without any “superstars” really (i.e. Grizzlies, Pacers) I put it in quotes because after some playoff success these guys may be more household names, but you get the point. And the Spurs are just this freakish in-between that have been around for eternity, so they are like the gold standard of assembling a team in my mind. But The Grizz and Pacers are shaping up to be like the Pistons back in the mid 2000s. Lebron and Durant’s squads are the super star model that has seemed to dominate for years. And nowhere in either scenario does JR Smith fit. He’s not a bonafide number 2 option. And he’s certainly not an unselfish team player that could be a part of a team like Memphis or Indiana. You could argue that JR Smith at 5 mil a year is a good value, and when he’s putting up 20 and 5 you’d be right. But 4 years of him in the middle of Carmelo’s prime doesn’t take this team to the next level. If he was a true 6th Man complimenting Carmelo and a second option, and if he could stop being a dickhead off the court, he’d be great. But in reality they rely on him to be a second option and thats just not ever gonna be a contending team. Not in this League.

PS – Chris Smith announcing “I will be back next season” is absolutely the most absurd, delusional thing I’ve ever seen