Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith are headed to Cleveland. (Jim Rogash, Getty Images)
The New York Knicks have agreed to trade guards Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to Cleveland in a three-team deal that will also send Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters to the Thunder, .
Oklahoma City will give the Cavaliers a protected future first-round draft pick and send guard Lance Thomas to the Knicks, league sources said. As part of the trade, the Cavaliers will send rookie center Alex Kirk, forward Lou Amundson and a 2019 second-round pick to the Knicks, sources said.
I’m told Knicks will keep Lance Thomas, but waive Amundsen and Kirk. They’re also waiving Dalembert.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck)
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Knicks also gained two cap exceptions, for $6 mil and $2.5 mil, which they could use in further deals before trade deadline.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck)
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There was speculation that Waiters would be involved in a deal when the Cavaliers lost their starting center, Anderson Varejao, for the season with a torn Achilles. Nuggets center T but was not included in this deal.
The Knicks are also expected to waive center Samuel Dalembert, according to Wojnarowski.
While it initially appeared Reggie Jackson, a former standout at Palmer High in Colorado Springs, would be headed to New York, his name was not included among the pieces of the deal. Jackson filled in for the Thunder while Russell Westbrook was out with a knee injury and averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds in 13 games as a starter to all but save Oklahoma City’s season. As a result, his market value went up, and he’s set to be a free agent this summer.
The deal, which is primarily a salary dump for the Knicks, sparked a wave of reactions on Twitter because Phil Jackson found a way to unload Smith, a former Nugget who has long been troublesome off the court and has played in only 24 games this season because of injury. In those games, he posted his lowest player efficiency rating (11.7) since his rookie season, according to Basketball-Reference, while averaging 10.9 points on 40.2 percent shooting from the field and 35.6 percent from 3-point range.
(It’s worth noting that Smith is the Nuggets’ all-time leader in attempted (2,010) and made (768) 3-point field goals. His 38.2 percent from three ranks No. 8 in franchise history. Randy Foye surpassed Smith last season to rank No. 2 with the most 3-pointers in a season (189).
But enough of the boring details. Let’s get to the fun part: The reactions.
JR Smith & Johnny Manziel & Josh Gordon now in the same town….. LeBron’s hairline just receded three inches.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports)
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if jr smith doesn’t lead the league in jersey sales by like next tuesday i quit you, america
— Greg Howard (@greghoward88)
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My first reaction to Dion Waiters for JR Smith
— Joe Reedy (@joereedy)
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“Just pass me the ball, I’ll take care of the rest” — JR Smith, sometime in 2015
— 3030 (@jose3030)
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If the Knicks just unloaded JR Smith, as is reporting, I put Phil Jackson in the lead for executive of the year.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck)
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RT : Thank you forever to for the JR Smith flowchart
— Zach Harper (@talkhoops)
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Knicks will have multiple picks to acquire players to eventually feud with Melo!
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball)
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Phil Jackson dumped Shump because he wanted JR Smith out that badly. Sounds like a great idea for the Cavs to bring him on!
— Sean Highkin (@highkin)
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Not in love w this Knick trade, by the way. JR’s contract/antics weren’t so bad that they merit giving away Shumpert just to get rid of JR.
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ)
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Forgot that Shawn Marion was one of JR Smith’s victims:
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick)
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