A Promising 2013 for J.R. Smith

The Knicks reclaimed J.R. Smith this past summer for practically nothing. Smith came over to the Knicks as a free agent in 2012, departing a short stint in China during the lockout, had a relatively down season for his standards, and then became a free agent. It was assumed Smith would flee the Knicks during free agency as the Knicks had little money to re-sign him. However, something about the Knicks – New York’s proximity to his home state of New Jersey, the teammates he’d grown close with, the nightlife… – brought Smith back for the 2012-13 season at only $2.8 million, with few other suitors around the league.