Many people were questioning why Phil Jackson decided to break up the Knicks and leave Carmelo all alone in New York but now, Phil is shedding some light on it. In an interview with ESPN, Phil mentions that J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were difficult to work with, not improving their game, and he even says JR was a delinquent!
SHEESH. No more holding back for Phil Jackson. I guess it is not too hard to believe that Jackson described J.R Smith as a delinquent and the reason being that, a lot of times, the type of characteristics players show on the court, usually reflect somewhat off the court as well. We all know JR doesn’t have the best résumé when it comes to being a stand up a player on the court. I mean, just this past NBA playoffs, he was suspended for two games following a hard hit to Jae Crowder’s face.
In an interview, Phil Jackson said, “J.R. had been exhibiting some delinquent behavior and had gotten into the habit of coming late to team meetings, or missing them altogether,” and again, it is not that hard to believe. Don’t get me wrong, JR is my guy and I think moving to a team with an elite player like LeBron was definitely good. You can see how he seemed to be more excited and into the games–whether or not he showed up when it mattered.
But, it kind of gets worse for JR. Phil Jackson really goes in and seemed to be hinting that JR was sensitive and soft when he says, “He didn’t really respond. He’s a very sensitive guy, with his big doe eyes. He looked like he was going to tear up. But he finally responded that he was going through some issues with his gal.” Talk about not holding back! LOL! Phil definitely violated a little when he said it looked like JR was going cry about not holding is weight. Slight jab or nah?
In this same interview, Jackson spoke on Iman as well and said that he was not living up to the expectations the organizations had for him once he was injured in Dallas. Phil, in short, says the Knicks had no more time to waste on either one of the players–JR or Iman–and had no other option but to cut ties.
Source: NBC Sports
