Knicks guard J.R. Smith is disputing he missed 80 practices with his Chinese team — virtually all of them — in a lawsuit filed with FIBA to recoup the $1,078,500 withheld from his salary.
In the complaint obtained by The Post, a four-page list of other alleged transgressions depict a player who had blatant disregard for the Zhejiang Chouzhou rules during his short tenure. Smith did not attend a series of pregame team meetings and took trips to Shanghai, Bejing and the United Kingdom during practice days without telling the club. Every missed practice was denoted by date from Oct. 25, 2011-Feb. 15, 2012.
The Chinese team also alleged it requested Smith’s sister Stephanie be sent home to the U.S., claiming she was “abusive’’ and “the root’’ of Smith missing virtually every practice because she had him take her shopping. (Stephanie reportedly choked a Chinese fan during a game).
The case will be ruled upon in the coming weeks by a FIBA arbitrator in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Chinese team, which claims in documents Smith “breached’’ his contract, has until Monday to answer Smith’s complaint. The contract states FIBA would rule on a dispute.
Smith was scheduled to make $2.88M — signing Sept. 13 during the NBA lockout. The Chinese club agreed to pay all his taxes. The complaint alleges Smith received just $1.82 million of his wage and didn’t pay him $18,500 in bonuses based on victories.
Smith’s offcourt behavior has been an issue in the NBA, but the Knicks are leaning toward bringing him back even if he opts out by Tuesday’s deadline and becomes a free agent July 1.
Smith has had his shaky moments since signing in February, including the NBA fining him $25,000 for tweeting a partially naked photo of a woman in his Milwaukee hotel room. Last month, he was arrested in Miami Beach on an outstanding bench warrant for driving a scooter without a license.
“It is not possible in the reasonable course of things the player did not attend so many practices [most probably all], held by the club,’’ Smith’s complaint reads. “On the contrary, the player attended many practices and he has presented his excuse for any non-attendances.’’
The complaint argues Smith did not miss a single game — playing all 32 — and led the club in scoring average (36.4) and hence “showed outstanding performance.’’
Smith’s attorneys also contest the Chinese team did not give him any formal notice they were bothered by any missed practices nor did they issue any fines until after the season, after which they prepared a list of his alleged mishaps which totaled well over $600,000 in fines. The complaint said the Chinese team had a right to terminate his contract if he missed multiple practices and chose not to.
However, the Chinese team states in documents it tried to terminate his contract but was thwarted for vague reasons.
“We were delighted to terminate our agreement with J.R. Smith early on in the season but was asked not to by the agent involved because it would jeopardize the image of the player for NBA purposes,’’ the team wrote.
After his Chinese experience ended. Smith signed with the Knicks a one-year deal with an option for a second year at $2.6 million. Smith has until Tuesday to inform the Knicks he wants to exercise the option. His market value in the new CBA is a mystery because of his baggage and playoff disaster in which he shot 31.6 percent against. Miami, including a 5-of-28 showing from the 3-point line.
His market value in the new CBA is a mystery because of his baggage and playoff disaster — shooting 31.6 percent against Miami, including a 5-of-28 showing from the 3-point line.
While other clubs may deem him a big risk, the Knicks, desperate at guard with Iman Shumpert’s injury, are likely to take advantage of CBA rules and give him a 20-percent raise that would allow him to re-sign without the club using any of their $5 million midlevel exception.
Smith is represented by CAA, but the case is being assisted by a Turkish law firm. CAA lawyer, Jennifer Duberstein, did not return phone calls.
WRITTEN BY MARC BERMANÂ [email protected]Â & FULL STORY HERE
