J.R. Smith hit out at Phil Jackson, saying it was “crazy” that the Knicks president shared Smith’s off-court issues with the media.
Jackson traded Smith to the Cavaliers last season, and it was widely speculated that Smith had off-court issues. In July, Jackson went into great detail on what they were, telling a reporter that Smith exhibited “delinquent behavior” and had “some issues with his gal.”
On Friday, Smith hit out at Jackson for airing his personal issues in public, particularly with regards to the “gal” comment.
“It was crazy to me because I try to leave my personal life on the side and when somebody sits there, sits behind a desk and tells you to open up on what’s going on with you, you’re thinking that’s going to be between the two of y’all,” Smith told ESPN.com. “So, for me, it tells me something I already knew. But to come from someone like Phil, it’s just, it’s crazy. It makes you not want to tell anybody anything [that has] anything to do with your business. It was tough, but that’s how he handles stuff, that’s how he does it.”
“I’ve talked to a few people and they don’t understand why he did it, but I definitely won’t have that conversation with anybody else after that. So it just stuck with me. It’s all right,” Smith said.
It’s hard to blame Smith for being upset. He told Jackson about a personal issue in confidence and a few months later Jackson was telling the world about it to justify a trade that he didn’t even really need to justify. No wonder there’s no love lost between the two.
