J.R. Smith wouldn't blame New York Knicks for trading him

To say J.R. Smith’s tenure with the New York Knicks has been up and down would be a severe understatement. Filled with more low’s that high’s, Smith has become a problem in the Big Apple and his sub-par play has allegedly put himself on the trade block more than once.

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That’s something Smith knows far too well and understanding of his poor attitude and play, the talented sixth man says he wouldn’t blame Phil Jackson or the New York Knicks organization if they decided to trade him at some point during the upcoming season.

“No. Absolutely not. The way I was playing, I was playing like a person who didn’t want to be there,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “Not looking as focused as a person should be in that situation that we were, in the trenches. I wouldn’t blame them at all.”

While Smith brings with him a unique ability to heat up at any moment and become a prolific scorer off the bench, he doesn’t contribute very much elsewhere and has morphed into a one-trick pony. That said, he’s very good at what he does and could be of use to a team with playoff aspirations who need a bench scorer.

Of course, given his past ‘issues’, it’s questionable if a team would be willing to take a chance on him – especially with two years remaining on his contract (’15-16 is a player option worth $6.4 million).

I’d like to think that J.R. Smith has matured and turned things around, though, given his track record he’s going to need to prove himself a bit more.

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J.R. Smith wouldn’t blame New York Knicks for trading him

By Bryan Rose | Jul 17, 2014