The New York Knicks are reportedly open to trading J.R. Smith. Smith's lavish contract, underperformance and recent argument with coach Mike Woodson all likely factor into the Knicks' willingness to deal the struggling 2-guard.
New York would be willing to part with Tyson Chandler if it meant a team would take on Smith's contract, according to a report from ESPN's Chris Broussard.
"The Knicks are not looking to move Chandler - several teams have contacted them about him, sources said - but if a club agreed to take back struggling guard J.R. Smith, the Knicks would consider such a deal," Broussard wrote on Sunday.
Broussard was referring to the Lakers' interest in swapping Pau Gasol for Chandler, something the Knicks would apparently only consider if it included offloading Smith's three-year, $18 million contract as part of the trade.
Smith hasn't yet lived up to the three-year deal he signed in the summer. He underwent knee surgery in July and, after being suspended for the first five games of the season for a failed drug test, has struggled to duplicate the level of play that earned him the 2013 Sixth Man of the Year award.
Smith finished last season with 18.1 points per game on 42.2 percent shooting; he's averaging just 10.1 points per game on 33.3 percent shooting this season.
The Knicks' may be even more willing to trade Smith after his heated exchange with Woodson and seemingly petulant attitude afterward. The argument happened after Wednesday's win against Chicago, according to the New York Daily News.
"According to a team source, Woodson admonished Smith for poor shot selection during the Bulls game and then became upset over something Smith said on the bench," Frank Isola of The Daily News wrote on Saturday. "Woodson waited until after the game to express his disappointment with Smith's attitude and reminded the volatile shooting guard that he's been his strongest advocate for the past two seasons."
The source also said Smith made a vulgar comment that upset Woodson.
The friction continued at Thursday's practice when Woodson showed several of Smith's shots to the team to illustrate poor shot selection, which Smith seemingly responded to on Friday by taking only one shot against Boston. Smith then appeared to get benched on Saturday during the fourth quarter of New York's win over Atlanta.
Through those three games, Smith went 3-of-17 from the field for 11 points.
