NBA Rumors: New York Knicks Must Avoid J.R. Smith

J.R. Smith is exactly what the New York Knicks don't need. Their offense doesn't have room for his gunner ways, and the Knicks have much to sort out before adding someone like Smith. 

Smith has been playing ball in China and is set to become a free agent this Wednesday when his Chinese team's season concludes. He is going to draw plenty of interest from NBA teams once he hits the market, and the Knicks are reportedly one of the front runners.

The rumors

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com noted that the Knicks are the presumed front-runners:  

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The Knicks are the presumed favorite to land Smith because they can offer him both a large role on the team, and their pro-rated $2.5 million mini mid-level exception. Exceptions are only pro-rated after Feb. 10, so Smith wouldn't be losing much.

Most of the other teams reportedly interested in him, like the Lakers or Clippers, can only offer him a veteran minimum contract, which would be pro-rated from the beginning of the season.

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For the reasons that Shelburne states, and the fact that Carmelo Anthony is a former teammate, the Knicks make sense. However, it is all the reasons that aren't stated why Smith doesn't. 

Why the Knicks don't need Smith

A couple of weeks ago, the Knicks' glaring weakness was at the point guard position. Since then, Jeremy Lin has turned the Big Apple upside down and revitalized the Knicks. 

And Lin has done most of this without Anthony or Amar'e Stoudemire on the court. 

Now New York has a brighter future, but it also has to figure out how to incorporate Anthony and Stoudemire into the "Linsanity."

There are only so many shots to go around, and Smith is a player that has never seen a shot he didn't like. This would only clutter the Knicks' offense and derail them from finding any true balance or flow.

Also, New York has a solid shooting guard in Landry Fields. He is averaging 10.1 points per game, and he is doing that while shooting 48.2 percent from the field.

This is the kind of efficient and economic scoring the Knicks need from their shooting guard. They don't need a streaky shooter chucking up shots while their stars struggle to assert themselves.