Report: New York Knicks Could Trade J.R. Smith Soon

The New York Knicks are considering trading shooting guard J.R. Smith in an effort to turn their season around, according to a new report.

The New York Knicks are an absolute mess right now.

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Not only are the Knicks an abysmal 4-19 to start the 2014-15 NBA season, but they are having internal locker room issues as well. ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported on Wednesday that Carmelo Anthony and Tim Hardaway Jr. recently engaged in a verbal altercation that nearly turned violent.

With everything going wrong for New York right now, it should no surprise no one that the team is interested in making a trade with the hopes of turning its season around.

Also of little surprise, given he’s been a constant in trade rumors in recent years, J.R. Smith is the Knick most likely to be shipped away in such a move.

Broussard writes:

"With free agents who signed before Sept. 16 becoming available for trade Dec. 15, the Knicks could look to make roster changes soon — with sources saying J.R. Smith is the player they’d most like to trade."

It appears Smith’s time in New York could be over very soon.

It makes sense why the Knicks would want to deal Smith. He’s not exactly a team player and he doesn’t have a good reputation as a locker room presence. At the same time, given that, it’s unlikely the Knicks could get anything of major value for the scoring-first player that’s shooting just 41.0 percent from the field this season.

The fact of the matter is that the Knicks aren’t going to make the postseason with or without Smith. But someone has to be the scapegoat, so the 29-year-old Smith might just get the boot.

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