JR Smith Responds to Knicks Waiving Brother Chris with 'Betrayal' Instagram Post

J.R. Smith is going to be J.R. Smith, and after the New York Knicks waived his younger brother, Chris, he was J.R. Smith.

ESPN New York's Ian Begley first brought word of New York's decision, at which point we all anxiously awaited Swish's response. 

Almost needless to say, we were not disappointed.

Social media has long been Smith's outlet for his frustration and, shall we say, recreational activities, so it's only fitting he burned the Knicks via Instagram:

Betrayal? Really now?

Last time I checked, watching your brother leave a team he had no business being on in the first place—nearly $500,000 richer, no less—doesn't qualify as "betrayal."

New York did Smith—Chris, not J.R. (that we can prove)—a solid by retaining him past opening day.

Per the New York Daily News' Frank Isola, there was an unusual clause in Smith's contract that guaranteed every cent of his $490,180 salary if he made it that long without being cut.

You're welcome, Chris. And J.R., who is being generously compensated ($5.6 million) for his underwhelming services this season. If this is in fact betrayal, at least the Knicks have the common decency to pad the wallets of their "victims."

To be fair, it's only natural J.R. be upset. This is his brother we're talking about. Watching him fall short of his NBA dream (again) isn't going to feel good.

But the Knicks bent over backward to accommodate the undersized guard, who logged a grand total of two minutes this season. Robert De Niro memes aren't necessary. The time had come to move on, which Begley says they have already done:

So that's that...for now.

"Chris has enough talent," a league official told the New York Post's Marc Berman, following a league-sanctioned investigation into the legitimacy of Smith's pact. "He could become an NBA player one day." 

If that day ever comes, if Smith ever becomes a real NBA player, it won't be with the Knicks.

Actually, I shouldn't be so presumptuous. There's always next season.

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*Salary information obtained courtesy ShamSports.com.