NBA Rumors: J.R. Smith Must Buy into New York Knicks' System to Find Success

The New York Knicks are officially inking J.R. Smith to a contract today, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.

Smith is a prolific scorer, but he’s also a selfish player and somewhat of a hothead. If he doesn’t get on board with coach Mike D’Antoni’s system and the unselfish play that has brought the Knicks their recent success, he could quickly find himself out of the rotation.

In seven career seasons with the Hornets and Nuggets, Smith has averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He takes an average of 10.3 shots per game with 4.4 of them from beyond the arc.

Even if you have never seen J.R. play, you can tell by those numbers that he’s a black hole for the ball.

The Freehold, NJ native is going to have to learn how to pass the ball and space the floor in the Knicks backcourt.

This is a team that turned Jeremy Lin into a legitimate superstar because of ball movement, his ability to knock down the open shot and willingness to do anything to win.

They can’t have someone like J.R. coming in and launching up bad shots when there is already doubt that Carmelo Anthony—a career ball stopper—will not be able to coexist on this roster with Lin and Amar’e Stoudemire.

If Smith can carve out a niche, it will be running the court to get easy baskets off dishes from Lin, who has proved himself to be a great floor general.

The former Denver Nuggets star should be finding open three-pointers and cutting to the hoop for athletic finishes. If he’s doing anything else, such as trying to create his own shot when ‘Melo and Amar’e are standing around, this is going to be an ugly signing.

D’Antoni needs to keep a short leash on Smith and make sure he plays to his strengths and doesn’t start falling into some of the bad habits he became known for over the years.

If he can do that, this will turn out to be a fine midseason pickup.