JR Smith | Larry Brown Sports

JR Smith reportedly will sign four-year extension with Knicks

May 20, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

JR Smith said after the New York Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs on Saturday that he wants to retire as a Knick. We can’t say whether or not he’ll be able to fulfill that wish, but it does look like he’ll be able to remain with the team for a while.

The New York Post’s Marc Berman reports that Smith is expected to opt out of his current contract to sign a four-year extension with the team. Berman says that the team could offer Smith around $5 million per season because of their Early Bird rights to him, though we do not know if another team will be able to offer Smith more. Berman also says that Smith and his brother, Chris, who played at Louisville, will be a package deal. Chris Smith was undrafted but played on the Knicks’ Summer League team. He got hurt and was waived before training camp.

The Post also says that Chris Smith has changed agents to Carmelo Anthony’s agent, for what that’s worth.

Chris Smith seems pretty excited about the potential package deal:

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

JR Smith played part of 2011-2012 in China after signing there during the lockout. He returned and played the remainder of the season with the Knicks, but he did not receive much free agent interest. He signed a two-year deal for worth around $2.8 million per season prior to this season, and he was named Sixth Man of the Year.

Chest bump to Eye on Basketball

Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: JR Smith

JR Smith responds to Rihanna club claims with ‘Men in Black’ meme

May 17, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

JR Smith responded to all the Rihanna gossip by posting a “Men in Black” meme to his Instagram account on Friday.

The meme shows Will Smith’s character in “Men in Black” holding up a neuralyzer, which is a tool he and Tommy Lee Jones’ character use in the movie series to erase the memory of subjects by flashing a light in their eyes.

Smith and Rihanna were rumored to be dating a year ago. The rumors flared up again last week after the two were photographed nearby each other at a club.

It’s not clear whether Smith meant he wanted to use a neuralyzer on Rihanna to erase her memory of their relationship, or on all the club-goers who have ratted him out for partying.

Rihanna responded to a fan on Thursday by saying Smith is performing poorly in the playoffs because he’s hungover from partying at clubs every night. Before the Knicks’ 85-75 Game 5 win over the Pacers, Smith dismissed the questions about Rihanna. He went 4-for-11 and had 13 points. He is shooting 29.3 percent for the series.

Chest bump to Beyond the Buzzer
Photo: Instagram/JR Smith

Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: JR Smith, Rihanna

Rihanna: JR Smith slumping because he’s hungover from partying in clubs

May 16, 2013 By Larry Brown 5 Comments

J.R. Smith has been shooting the ball terribly during the playoffs, and Rihanna says that’s because the New York Knicks guard is hungover from partying in clubs every night.

Smith shot the ball well in Games 2 and 3 of the Knicks-Boston Celtics series, which the Knicks won in six games. He went 13-of-27 (48 percent) including 4-9 (44 percent) on 3-pointers those two games. But after being suspended for Game 4 of the series for his elbow to Jason Terry in Game 3, Smith began shooting terribly.

Smith has shot an abysmal 28.6 percent from the field since Game 5 against the Celtics. No surprise, New York has struggled accordingly and only gone 2-4 in those playoff games. Now Rihanna has an explanation for his struggles.

Smith and Rihanna were rumored to have been dating last year. The gossip about them picked up again last week after they were pictured partying at the same club. Rihanna also confirmed she broke up with Chris Brown.

The singer posted a photo to her popular Instagram account on Thursday and must have received a comment from a Knicks fan who goes by @peruvian_gawd on Instagram. She responded to him with the message below where she says Smith is screwing up because he’s hungover from partying at clubs every night:

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Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: JR Smith, NBA playoffs 2013, Rihanna

JR Smith responds to partying rumors, takes shot at bandwaggon fans

May 5, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

JR Smith took aim at some fans following the New York Knicks’ 102-95 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.

Rumors circulated late Saturday/early Sunday that Smith, who by his own admission has partied too much in the past, was out at a club late into the evening.

A tweet sent from The 40/40 Club in New York said Smith was in attendance:

Cam Newton, JR Smith, CC Sabathia, CJ Watson, Andre Blatche and Joe Johnson in the building!The lineup is serious tonight NY!

— The 40/40 Club (@The4040) May 5, 2013

Smith shot 4-for-15 in the loss, and some were attributing his sub-par game to his alleged partying. He addressed that matter over Twitter:

First an for most I wasn’t clubbing before the game so y’all can kill that. Don’t try an find reasons when I miss shots! #HopOff

— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) May 5, 2013

Smith then took a broader swipe at fans by accusing them of being disloyal. He then shared a photo of a humorous “official NBA bandwaggon transferral form” on Instagram:

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Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: JR Smith

JR Smith when asked about Jason Terry: ‘Who?’

April 30, 2013 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

The Boston Celtics have an incredibly tall task ahead of them if they want to advance to the next round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. They are returning to New York on Wednesday night to face the Knicks, who have put Kevin Garnett and company in a 3-1 hole. If the Celtics need bulletin board matieral to motivate them, JR Smith is doing his best to provide it.

Smith did not play in Game 4 after he was suspended for elbowing Jason Terry during Game 3. Terry was a big reason the Celtics were able to force Game 5 with his 18-point performance (9 in overtime) in Game 4. When asked about Terry’s success in Game 4, Smith refused to acknowledge his existence.

“Who?” Smith said, via the Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin. “I don’t even know who that is.”

Refusing to let him off that easy, a reporter asked Smith a follow-up question about the Celtics guard.

“Who?” he asked again. “Who is that?”

There you go, Boston. If Doc Rivers was looking for something to use to wake his team up at Madison Square Garden, this should be a good place to start. Smith was also asked if the Knicks would have been able to sweep the Celtics had he not been suspended.

“Oh, yeah,” he said confidently. “It would have been over. I would have been playing golf today.”

This is the same Smith who recently said the Celtics are lost because they are missing a certain player, so he obviously isn’t afraid to offend his opponents. Whether or not it will come back to haunt him remains to be seen.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: Jason Terry, JR Smith

JR Smith: Celtics don’t know what to do without Rajon Rondo

April 25, 2013 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

The Boston Celtics have put themselves in a tough spot against the New York Knicks as they head back home. The age of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and company was evident in the first two games of the playoffs, as they were unable to close out games or come up with answers late in the fourth quarter. Fatigue has clearly been a factor, but we must also remember that the Celtics have been missing Rajon Rondo.

Without Rondo, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL, Boston has not been able to keep up with New York’s speed. The Celtics scored 78 points in their Game 1 loss to the Knicks and only 71 in Game 2. JR Smith believes that has a lot to do with the absence of Rondo.

“When Rondo is out there, they are in a certain flow,” Smith told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. “When he is not out there, they sort of don’t know who to go to or [what] plays to run. That’s a credit to a great player like Rondo. When he is in the game, he seems to know two or three plays ahead of what they want to do.”

There were points throughout the regular season when the Celtics appeared to be chugging along and talking head radio hosts claimed they were better off without Rondo. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and the Knicks are proving that.

Boston scored only 23 points in the second half of Game 2 against New York — the fewest in the team’s playoff history. If Rondo was in the lineup, that would never happen. Not only that, but Raymond Felton and Smith would not be nearly as effective as they have been if both Rondo and Avery Bradley were healthy.

Smith may say some incredibly dumb things, but he’s spot-on this time. Without Rondo, the Celtics have been lost against the Knicks.

H/T Eye on Basketball
Photo credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: Boston Celtics, JR Smith, Rajon Rondo

JR Smith ordered to pay $48,000 for allegedly skipping out on jewelry bill

April 11, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

JR Smith reportedly has been ordered to pay over $48,000 to a jewelry company for allegedly not paying a bill after ordering some items from them in 2010.

According to TMZ, Smith ordered a diamond chain, two Black Jesus pendants and some earrings from Lemmerman’s — totaling $25,500.

The company sued Smith for $48,101, which was the amount of the jewelry plus interest and attorney’s fees. Smith did not respond to the suit and was ordered by a judge to pay $48,000.

Lemmerman’s advertises a great deal of custom-made jewelry on their website. They also seem to be quite popular with athletes; CJ Miles, Ryan Gomez, Keith Bogans, and Jared Sullinger are among the players whose names appear on the site for their products.

Below is a look at the Black Jesus pendant ordered by Smith: