J.R. Smith RUMORS & NEWS

ESPN.com "J.R. Smith will not opt in with the New York Knicks, declining his player option of $2.9 million, a league source confirmed with ESPNNewYork.com. Smith will officially announce the decision before June 30, making him an unrestricted free agent. It was reported by the New York Post last month..." June 04

New York Post "The Knicks’ 1-2 scoring tandem was truly hurting in the ill-fated Pacers series. Not only did Carmelo Anthony play with what an MRI exam Wednesday revealed was a partial tear in his left shoulder, but The Post has learned J.R. Smith’s nightmarish playoff performance was partly because of a..." May 23

SportingNews.com "Knicks guard J.R. Smith is expected to opt out of his contract and sign a four-year deal to remain in New York, according to a New York Post report. The deal would pay Smith about $5 million per season because the Knicks hold his early Larry Bird rights. Also playing into Smith’s decision is..." May 20

New York Post "After it ended, J.R. Smith said he looked at his Knicks jersey and thought about how he doesn’t want to leave New York. “I want to retire a Knick,” said Smith, who can opt out of his contract this offseason, in the aftermath of the Knicks’ season-ending 106-99 Game 6 defeat. “I don’t want to go..." May 19

New York Post "J.R. Smith may not be out of his slump, but his performance in Game 5 against the Pacers last night was a step in the right direction. Smith, who has been mired in a horrific shooting slump since his ejection in Game 3 of the Knicks’ first-round series against the Celtics, had 13 points to go..." May 17

New York Post "Rihanna alleged Thursday what many Knicks fans already suspected about J.R. Smith and his playoff woes. In a comment on Instagram, the singer wrote that Smith is struggling because “his a** be hungover from clubbing every night during playoffs.” Smith has shot just 28.6 percent from the field..." May 16

New York Daily News "There must be something about the nickname Swish that makes it impossible to have postseason success in New York. Like October-challenged former Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher, the usual Knicks swisher — J.R. Smith — has done nothing to live up to that moniker throughout these playoffs. His..." May 15

New York Post "J.R. Smith missed practice again yesterday and was called “a game-time decision’’ by coach Mike Woodson. But there’s good news on Smith’s health as he was spotted Sunday at about 10:30 p.m. at Steak N Shake. Smith was seen at the downtown Indianapolis landmark with his brother Chris Smith and..." May 14

SportingNews.com "The New York Knicks practiced Monday without forward Kenyon Martin or guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert. Martin and Smith are ill and questionable for Tuesday night's game in Indianapolis. Shumpert has a sore left knee but coach Mike Woodson says he probably will play in Game 4 against the..." May 13

New York Post "J.R. Smith needed not only to find his jump shot last night but a flu shot. The soap opera surrounding the embattled Smith took another turn as he missed yesterday’s morning shootaround at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a 102-degree fever and his status wasn’t certain until one hour before..." May 12

New York Daily News "Magic Johnson cautioned J.R. Smith to curtail his partying ways for the benefit of the Knicks, saying that going out the night before a playoff game is a "no-no." "J.R., you cannot hang out before an afternoon game," said Johnson, the ABC/ESPN analyst said on Friday. "That's a no-no. He better..." May 12

Newsday "J.R. Smith started getting the chills Friday night and Mike Woodson said he had a temperature of 102 Saturday morning. Smith clearly felt the effects of the virus he had, but he played nearly 25 minutes in the Knicks' 82-71 loss to Indiana. He was 4-for-12 with nine points. "I knew I was going..." May 12

New York Post "It wasn’t so much J.R. Smith who looked sick, and it wasn’t so much Amar’e Stoudemire who looked rusty, it was the rest of them. Neither Smith nor Stoudemire conjured up memories of Willis Reed limping through the Garden tunnel for Game 7, but don’t blame Game 3 on either of them. Blame the..." May 12

New York Daily News "No sooner had the Knicks’ practice ended in Greenburgh on a rainy Thursday than J.R. Smith was exiting stage left, far away from the media’s questions and faster than you can say “Under my umbrella, ella, ella.” The Knick shooting guard’s latest foray into front-page headlines had him partying..." May 10

New York Daily News "J.R. Smith is being singled out for more than just his recent shooting woes. The Knicks shooting guard was fined by the NBA $5,000 for flopping late in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against Indiana on Sunday on a play in which Smith was trying to fight through a screen set by David West while..." May 10

New York Post "Mike Woodson’s patience is running thin with J.R. Smith. For the first time, the Knicks coach said he will have a quicker hook with the Sixth Man Award winner if his shooting woes continue. Smith’s jump shot has been in the gutter since returning in Game 5 of the first round against Boston..." May 09

ESPN.com "Could J.R. Smith, the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year, be spending more time on the bench? New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson didn't rule out the possibility of cutting Smith's minutes in light of Smith's recent shooting struggles. "I'll gauge J.R. as we go along and if I feel he's not..." May 08

New York Post "The Knicks should know better than this. They should know better than to show up for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals as if it were Game 1 of the regular season. There is no bigger crime than letting an opponent play harder than you in your own building with the stakes this high, no..." May 06

New York Post "J.R. Smith’s tweet following Game 1 against Boston 10 days ago said, “#Happy4/20.” April 20 is the unofficial holiday for pot-smokers. As father of a high-school junior and a college freshman, I prefer my kids don’t get that sort of encouragement from the winner of the NBA’s Sixth Man..." April 30

North Jersey "J.R. Smith served his one-game suspension Sunday, remaining in the team hotel while the game was played, the punishment for his Flagrant Foul Two in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Without him, the Knicks saw their bench contribute just seven points. "I found out about it late last night and of..." April 29

New York Daily News "The Knicks should thank the NBA for suspending J.R. Smith from Sunday’s playoff game at the TD Garden. You read right, Knick fans. Jim Dolan should send over a nice big gift basket to David Stern for banning his Sixth Man Award winner from what promises to be the Knicks’ first..." April 28

SportingNews.com "J.R. Smith has been suspended for Game 4 of the New York Knicks' series with the Boston Celtics for elbowing Celtics guard Jason Terry in the chin. Game 4 is set for Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Knicks lead the series, three games to none. Terry was guarding Smith, the NBA's Sixth Man of..." April 27

New York Post "Earl Smith, J.R.’s father who served as his first coach growing up in Central Jersey, gave all the credit to his son’s grand emergence this season to Mike Woodson and took a swipe at his former coach in Denver, George Karl, during a wide-ranging interview yesterday. Smith won the Sixth Man..." April 25

New York Post "Fresh off his Sixth Man Award, J.R. Smith is almost certain to opt out of his contract and become a free agent July 1. The Knicks are praying they are not outbid. At Monday’s press conference, Smith evaded a question on his contractual future, saying he will “worry’’ about it when the time..." April 24

Boston Herald "Entering the season, Knicks coach Mike Woodson made his plans for J.R. Smith perfectly clear. “He told me, ‘You’re going to come off the bench. We need your energy to help us. You’re going to play just as many minutes as everybody else. You’re just going to come off the bench,’” Smith recalled...." April 23

New York Daily News "J.R. Smith, who was never enthralled with being a back-up, has been named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, according to a league source. A formal announcement will be made at 2:30 p.m. today. Smith, who will become a free agent this summer, averaged 18.1 points in 80 games while helping the..." April 22

Newark Star-Ledger "J.R. Smith, who is 6-foot-6 and muscle-armed, who can dunk a basketball out of a standing jump and, when necessary, can outrun nearly everyone on the court, is an oddly unimposing man. He is slender and narrow-eyed. He carries himself with sloping shoulders, unhurried. If his deadpan look is a..." April 20

NBA.com "The New York Knicks' J.R. Smith and the Utah Jazz's Al Jefferson on Monday were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 25 through Sunday, March 31. Smith led the Knicks to a 4-0 week which included two wins over the Boston Celtics..." April 01

New York Daily News "Michael Jordan the player would use Madison Square Garden as his personal playground and torment the Knicks whenever he came to town. Jordan the owner, however, doesn’t have the same cache. In fact, his team doesn’t have much of anything, including hope. Instead, the Charlotte Bobcats..." March 30

New York Daily News "Carmelo Anthony has played alongside J.R. Smith long enough now to know these hot streaks can arrive in a hurry, and depart just as quickly. “That’s what he do,” Anthony said. “That’s J.R. Smith. Some nights he makes those shots. Some nights he don’t.” Those shots have been falling now for..." March 30

New York Post "If the Celtics were hoping to get the Knicks in the first round, as they did in 2011, they may want to revise their playoff wish list. Celtics star Paul Pierce said before last night’s tip-off he would like to send a message to the Knicks in their two games this week in case they meet in the..." March 27

New York Post "J.R. Smith sounded the alarm yesterday in Los Angeles after the Knicks fell to 0-4 on their nightmarish West Coast trip, after Lob City was too much for Limp City. The high-flying Clippers of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan dismissed the ancient and depleted Knicks, 93-80, at..." March 18

Newsday "The Knicks aren't dealing only with knee problems. J.R. Smith said another body part is an issue. "We got to check out our heart right now," he said. "We either got to compete or pack up and go home. It's just that simple." The Knicks weren't competitive in the first two games of this trip,..." March 15

New York Post "J.R. Smith was vindicated Tuesday when his flagrant 2 foul during the Knicks’ Golden State game Monday — an automatic ejection — was reversed to a lighter flagrant. But all that means is he will get some money back. Smith, as well as Carmelo Anthony, makes his first homecoming since leaving..." March 13

Pro Basketball Talk "This went unnoticed during Thursday night’s closer-than-expected contest between the Knicks and the Thunder, but you can bet that the league will be reviewing it in the days that follow. With about 5:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, J.R. Smith takes an aggressive swing with his right elbow..." March 08

New York Post "J.R. Smith was having fun at the end of Knicks practice yesterday, rifling the ball right-handed from three-quarter court, quarterback-style. He fell short on three attempts but not by much. “I was a little short but still better than [Tim] Tebow,’’ Smith said jokingly about the Jets..." February 26

New York Post "J.R. Smith’s act is starting to wear thin on the Knicks’ coaching staff. Coach Mike Woodson, Smith’s most ardent supporter, ripped his sixth man and the club in general for losing their composure in Wednesday’s 125-91 disgraceful loss to the Pacers. Smith attempted to bait Indiana’s Lance..." February 22

New York Daily News "J.R. Smith goes underground on game nights, preferring to ride the subway from his uptown apartment to Madison Square Garden. A handful of commuters recognize the extravagantly tattooed straphanger, but mostly Smith is ignored as the train rumbles toward Penn Station. “Most people find it hard..." February 10