The more things change...
I didn't know that his brother was 26.
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Steve Popper on the NBA: Keeping Chris Smith questionable move by Knicks' GM
Sunday, October 27, 2013
The Record
Print | E-mailWhen the Knicks made their final roster moves Friday afternoon, the most notable — and controversial — decision came when the team kept Chris Smith.
It was a choice that was left to coach Mike Woodson to explain away, but in reality the move will be placed at the foot of general manager Steve Mills.
Mills had enough things to explain when he returned to the Knicks, not the least of which was why he'd want to return to the scene of the most tumultuous time of his career.
So for his first move since the abrupt firing of Glen Grunwald on the eve of training camp and his arrival, Mills orchestrated the sort of move that could cling to his feet much like the scent of what he stepped in his first time around with the Knicks.
Back then it was the hiring — and firing — of Isiah Thomas and the ugly Madison Square Garden corporate malfeasance involving Thomas, Anucha Browne Sanders and Stephon Marbury. Now, it's a lesser offense, but one that may prove more offensive to the fan base.
At least Thomas was a skilled basketball man and Marbury a skilled player. In handing a roster spot to Smith, Mills left himself with little explanation.
The résumé for Smith consists mainly of being the younger brother of J.R. Smith — not to mention the family ties of shared representation with his brother, Carmelo Anthony, Woodson, Allan Houston and Garden chairman James Dolan.
Until now, the Knicks could lay claim to the high ground of trying to put the best product on the floor and spending wildly to do it.
But in the younger Smith they opted for a player with a thin college résumé, and clearly the least productive player on the training camp roster.
In speaking with an opposing front office executive, scout and an agent, the unanimous assessment was the Knicks had done this for something other than basketball purposes — and that Smith was not an NBA player.
Perhaps with time he will be, but he's already 26 years old and coming off a major knee injury. And in keeping him, the Knicks let loose promising 22-year-old Jeremy Tyler and passed on, well, lots of players with more potential.
If you think the last roster spot can't come into play, just look back at the past two seasons when Jeremy Lin and Chris Copeland occupied those spots.
This is on Mills' watch and on his résumé now. He had better hope he's chosen wiser now than his first time with the Knicks.