After falling 106-99 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semis to the Indiana Pacers, the New York Knicks season has officially ended. Considering the lofty expectations, it couldn’t have been in more disappointing fashion.
Of course, J.R. Smith, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year and First Team All-Twitter, took to the internet to make sure everyone knew where he stood on the season that was:
Smith was frequently criticized throughout these playoffs, often the center attention for what he was doing off the court — as well as what he was not doing on it — and has finally had enough of the criticism. However, he is likely not helping his cause by tweeting 19 times — and counting — the day after the Knicks season came to an end.
Smith is now officially a free agent.
And despite the rocky finish to the season, Smith has declared that he would like to resign with the Knicks and retire as a member of the franchise. His playoff struggles likely did not help his chances of earning what would likely be the biggest contract of his career this offseason from the Knicks or another team.
“I want to retire a Knick,” Smith said when asked about his future following the team’s season-ending loss to the Pacers on Saturday night. “I don’t want to go anywhere else. I love it. I love my teammates. I love my coaches. I was sitting in the locker room looking at my jersey after the game just knowing I don’t want to be anywhere else except for in the orange and blue. So we’ll see.”
According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York: “Smith has a $2.9 million player option for next year and is expected to opt out and test free agency. The Knicks likely will make it a priority to re-sign Smith, who won the NBA’s Sixth Man Award but struggled in the postseason. New York has Smith’s Early Bird Rights and can offer him a four-year contract starting at approximately $5 million with standard raises. But they may have competition for Smith’s services. Another team with significant cap space can offer Smith more than $5 million. Smith was asked if he’d take less money to stay in New York.
“I haven’t even thought about all that thus far. Still got to talk to [agent] Leon [Rose] and see where we’re at.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.