New York Knicks to re-sign J.R. Smith

Home » 2012 Offseason » New York Knicks to re-sign J.R. Smith

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) shoots over Miami Heat small forward Shane Battier (31) during the second half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

J.R. Smith and the Knicks have agreed to a contract that will bring Smith back to New York for at least one more year, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Smith will sign a two-year deal with a first-year salary of about $2.8MM and a second-year player option, according to Begley.

When Smith declined his option for 2012/13 in late June, we heard that he would likely re-up with the Knicks for the maximum salary they could pay him. Because Smith just signed with the Knicks in February after returning from China, he only had Non-Bird Rights, which meant a maximum raise of 120%. Since Smith re-signed in New York though, his Bird clock will keep ticking, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him opt out again in search of a larger raise when he earns Early Bird rights next summer.

Smith, who spent most of the 2011 season with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China, made a prorated portion of a $2.5 million contract when he returned to the United States and joined the Knicks.

After putting up 12.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 40 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from beyond the arc in 35 regular season games, Smith is going to get a 20 percent raise and some job security via a player option for the 2013-14 season

New York is likely going to retain emergent point guard Jeremy Lin and have already re-signed three-point specialist Steve Novak. It also added veteran center Marcus Camby to the roster to give depth behind incumbent Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler.