After coming off one of his best seasons ever and winning the Sixth Man of the Year award over Jamal Crawford in 2013, J.R. Smith spiraled down in the wrong direction last season.
Due to off-season knee surgery, Smith had no time to work on his game or stay in shape. Consequently, he started the 2013-2014 season comically bad, scoring 11.7 points on just 32.8 percent shooting in November and 12.4 points on 36.8 percent shooting in December. To be fair, Smith gradually improved and brought his shooting to a respectable 41.5 percent while averaging 14.5 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Still, Smith personally believes it was the worst season he has ever had, and opened up on ESPN’s First Take about why things went south for the New York Knicks last season, from Peter Botte of Daily News:
No, absolutely not,” Smith said Wednesday on ESPN’s First Take. “The way I was playing, I was playing like a person who didn’t want to be there, not looking as focused as a person should be in the situation we were in. I wouldn’t blame him at all.”
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“For one, it’s unacceptable, the whole year,” Smith said. “I’m not going to make any excuses for myself, but coming after knee surgery is a tough thing to come back from. I didn’t expect to be at that top tier where I was. . . . Early on, I put so much pressure on myself to come back — first after the suspension, and after being hurt — to be back to where I was the year before, winning the Sixth Man. I put so much pressure on myself, us not starting off well, expecting us to do a lot better than we were doing, to try to take some of the pressure off, just have fun with the game, and that’s where the shoe incident came into play. I just tried to ease the tension a little bit and it wasn’t working. . . . Unfortunately, it just so happened to be the worst year I believe I’ve had in the NBA, including my rookie year. I’m just looking to bounce back.”
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“We had a lot of confusion going on as far as what we’re gonna do, as far as schemes and stuff like that. Some people didn’t agree with it, and it just caused confusion. Before you know it, people were just doing what they wanted to do,” Smith said. “We just didn’t agree. We agreed to disagree a lot of times. And everybody knows, in order for five guys to be on the same page, like the Spurs were, move the ball well, to do things exceptionally well like they did to win, what it takes, everybody has to be on the same page, and we weren’t.”
First of all, perhaps Smith forgot just how bad his rookie season was, so here is a reminder: 10.3 points on 39.4 percent shooting – including 28.8 percent from the 3-point line – 68.9 percent from the stripe, two rebounds and 1.9 assists. No, he was not worse this past season than he was in his rookie year.
Secondly, the interview was fantastic in that he owned up to his failure to meet expectations after signing a big contract with the team. It was a humble take and perhaps a side we haven’t seen too often from the sometimes-volatile guard.
The fact that his team was confused about what needed to be done on the floor – at least from his perspective – says a lot about just how badly Mike Woodson had lost his players over the course of the season. It also explains why time after time, various players on the team were doing one inexplicable thing after another throughout the season, Smith included.
With new management and coach in town, the hope for New York is for Smith and everyone else to start anew and try to function like a veteran team that it should be. How will they actually do when the season starts? That very much remains to be seen.
DEMARCUS COUSINS SAYS LEBRON JAMES AND RAJON RONDO ARE THE BEST:
During a conversation with Bill Simmons, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was asked who he believes to be the best player in the league. He misheard the question as “who is the best point in the league?”, and answered Rajon Rondo (found around the 27-minute mark of the interview):
Cousins knows deep, deep inside who the best point guard is in the league, and his name is not Rondo. Of course, he would never openly admit it to anyone, given his personal hatred towards Chris Paul. Not surprisingly, Cousins also said the Los Angeles Clippers are the team he dislikes the most, thereby making them the team he most enjoys going up against. Cousins did answer the actual question of who the best player is in the league: LeBron James.
While on the subject of Cousins, here is what Jason Terry – who hopes the Sacramento Kings will buy him out – had to say about the center, from Bryan Gutierrez of ESPN Dallas:
The situation in Sacramento is one centered around rebuilding and youth, not exactly one catering to a 36-year-old shooting guard. Being rather direct, Terry said that the situation with the Kings wasn’t an ideal one for him.
“I wouldn’t say it’s rebuilding, but a building process,” Terry said. “DeMarcus Cousins, a huge talent. Attitude, a little shaky. Rudy Gay, not a proven winner in this league but a tremendous talent and a guy you can build around.
“They’re in transition right now. For me, at this point in my career, I want championships.”
Safe to say, Terry appears unlikely to play for the Kings one way or another.
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Anthony Bennett has looked terrific in summer league thus far, and this piece from Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today may help explain why: “Add that second-year forward Anthony Bennett, who had a very difficult and disappointing rookie season in 2013-14, said he has lost nearly 20 pounds and has looked like he’s motivated to contribute and the Cavaliers have a reason to believe the struggles of the past few seasons could be about to get better… Bennett admitted it was tough last season but when it ended he began working on losing weight. He said he’s at his playing weight of 243 pounds, down from 260. In three Summer League games, Bennett has played at least 30 minutes. Last season, he played just 30 or minutes twice in 52 games.”
Ed Davis will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “Free-agent forward Ed Davis reached agreement on a two-year, $2 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, a league source told Yahoo Sports. Davis will hold the option on his 2015-16 contract, a source said. Davis has the chance to earn considerable minutes with the Lakers, who also drafted power forward Julius Randle out of Kentucky in June. Davis, who is 6-foot-10 and 230 pounds, has shown flashes throughout his career. Nevertheless, he likely needed a change of venue after a year of political infighting within ownership, management and the coaching staff complicated his role in Memphis last season.”
Zach Lowe of Grantland broke major news about a possible reformation in NBA lottery. Here are the details: “The NBA submitted an official proposal to reform the lottery this week at competition committee meetings in Las Vegas, pushing aside the Wheel idea in favor of a revised weighting system that shifts each team’s odds of getting the top pick, per several sources who have seen and reviewed the league’s proposal. The proposal, which dominated the lottery-reform discussion in league meetings this week, is essentially an attempt to squeeze the lottery odds at either extreme toward a more balanced system in which all 14 teams have a relatively similar chance at the no. 1 pick, per sources familiar with the proposal. Under the current system, the team with the worst record has a 25 percent chance of snagging the no. 1 pick, perhaps the most valuable asset in the entire NBA. The team with the second-worst record has a 19.9 percent chance of winning the no. 1 pick, and the third-worst team enters the lottery with a 15.6 percent chance of moving up to the top slot. The odds decline from there, with the final five teams in the lottery — the teams with the five best records — each having a 1.1 percent or worse chance of moving up to no. 1.”
Erik Spoelstra broke his silence for the first time since LeBron James’ second decision, from Shandel Richardson of Sun Sentinel: “He seemed at peace with the decision,” Spoelstra said. “We don’t have any regrets. He shouldn’t have any regrets. It was a historic four-year run.”… “This league does teach you that it’s inevitable that there’s constant change and you always have to continue to embrace change, adapt with change,” Spoelstra said. “This is a big, monumental change that we didn’t necessarily anticipate but you have to respect it because when you’re a free agent in this league you have the right to make a decision that’s best for you and your family. When he made that decision that was best for his family, where his heart is, all you can do from our side is respond with respect and love.”
- According to Sam Amick of USA Today, Rodney Stuckey has agreed to terms with the Indiana Pacers: “Rodney Stuckey has agreed to join the Indiana Pacers on a one-year deal, @USATODAYsports has learned. Nice pickup after losing Stephenson.”
Meanwhile, Lance Stephenson is moving on from the Pacers and signing with the Charlotte Hornets, from Candace Buckner of Indystar: “On Wednesday, Stephenson accepted a shorter deal with the Charlotte Hornets, a source confirmed to The Star. Stephenson will make $9 million in each of his first two seasons. A third year, 2016-17, is a team option in which he would earn $9.4 million. The agreement with the Hornets comes after the Pacers had offered “a couple of options” to Stephenson, according to his agent, Alberto Ebanks. One involved more upfront money but less overall. The other was a five-year deal — an albatross in Stephenson’s camp — worth $44 million. “It wasn’t really about the money,” Ebanks said. “(But) if it’s going to be too little, then don’t let it be too long because you’re losing on both ends. “We tried and we tried and there comes a point when you just can’t try anymore, and here we go.”
- DeJuan Blair will sign with the Washington Wizards, according to Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “DeJuan Blair’s deal with Washington will be three-years, $6M — with a team option on third year, league source tells Yahoo Sports.”
- Brandon Rush is making his return to Golden State after being traded by the team last summer, according to Woj of Yahoo Sports: “Free-agent forward Brandon Rush has agreed to a two-year, $2.5 million deal with the Golden State Warriors, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Rush will hold the option on the 2015-16 season, a source said. Rush, 29, returns to the Warriors, who had traded him as part of a salary dump to Utah a year ago. Golden State had been impressed with Rush’s production in his full seasons there in 2011-12, before a knee injury cost him several months of rehabilitation.”
Kevin McHale emphasized the importance of signing more players after losing Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik this summer, from Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle: ““Well, I mean, hey I understand kind of why we did it,” McHale said. “I know they’re talking about flexibility. I like Chandler. He’s a big part of what we did and what we do. I’m going to miss having him, but that’s part of the business I guess. We got to replace not only Chandler, but we have to replace (Omer) Asik and we have to replace Jeremy (Lin) so we have a lot of work to do. “We’ll see who we get. We have to sign players. We’re just going to keep grinding away. And we’re going to go out and play. I like Trevor. I think he can help us. He shot the 3-ball well last year. We’re going to need him to do that again. Defense. Leadership. We need some experience.”-
Byron Scott was brought in for a third interview with the Los Angeles Lakers, but left again without an offer. Mark Medina of Daily News has details: “Byron Scott’s 3 1/2 hour interview on Wednesday with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and executive Jim Buss involved plenty of detail surrounding the team’s assembled roster since free agency began over two weeks ago. But the meeting at an undisclosed location ended without an offer, according to a league source familiar with the situation. The Lakers indicated they still planned to fill out the rest of the roster that currently features Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Robert Sacre, Julius Randle, Jeremy Lin, Nick Young, Jordan Hill, Kendall Marshall and Jordan Clarkson. But the Lakers did not indicate how long that process would take or if Scott would need to come in for what would mark his fourth interview, said the league source.” - If you want to know about the details of Carmelo Anthony’s contract with the Knicks, Marc Stein of ESPN has you covered: “Official Melo contract numbers via ESPN sources: $22,458,401, $22,875,000, $24,559,380, $26,243,760, $27,928,140. Total: $124,064,681… Melo’s new deal with Knicks also includes player option entering fifth season, 15-percent trade kicker and aforementioned no-trade clause.”
- Luke Ridnour will sign with the Orlando Magic, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN: “The Orlando Magic are finalizing an agreement with free-agent point guard Luke Ridnour, sources told ESPN.com. Ridnour averaged 5.0 points and 2.9 assists while splitting 61 games with the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Bobcats last season. The Magic have revamped their point guard position this summer, releasing veteran Jameer Nelson and making a draft-day trade to acquire No. 10 overall pick Elfrid Payton as their player of the future at the position. The Orlando Sentinel earlier reported Ridnour was headed to the Magic.”
- Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves are still talking about a possible Kevin Love deal, but nothing has really changed in terms of what both teams want, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports: “While Warriors’ pursuit of Kevin Love refuses to die, league source says no indication of movement on role of Klay Thompson in deal… The Wolves want Thompson, the Warriors don’t want to include him. That aspect of Love talks hasn’t changed.
- James Jones will follow LeBron James to Cleveland, according to Jason Lloyd of Beacon Journal: “The Cavaliers are bringing in another shooter — and another player close to LeBron James. James Jones agreed to a one-year deal with the Cavs on Wednesday for the league minimum of $1.45 million, a league source told the Beacon Journal. It’s the second James associate the Cavs have added in as many days after agreeing to a deal with Mike Miller on Tuesday.
- If you missed the ESPYS, this skit called “Drake vs Blake” is definitely worth a watch.
James Park is the chief blogger and deputy editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.