JR Smith’s brother Chris reportedly left his D-League team over playing time

The controversy surrounding J.R. Smith’s brother Chris within the New York Knicks organization continues.

The Knicks originally signed Smith last offseason, and there were whispers he was promised a spot on the NBA team’s roster as a condition to JR re-signing with the Knicks as a free agent. JR was pretty ticked when the Knicks released Chris. Chris’ standing within the organization has gotten even worse since then.

The Knicks’ D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, waived Smith on Tuesday. But here’s where the story gets good.

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Smith packed up and left the team days ago because he was unhappy with his playing time.

ESPN NY’s Ian Begley says Smith had issues with the coaching staff.

Chris Smith had several run-ins with the BayHawks coaching staff, which contributed to the decision to release him, sources tell ESPN NY.

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) March 4, 2014

Smith averaged 8.1 points and 3.3 rebounds with the team in 23 games. He averaged 20.8 minutes per game.

The Knicks are probably hoping that JR will follow his bro’s lead and leave the organization so they can somehow get out of his bad contract.

Chest bump to Sports Grid