JR Smith believes he is being kept out of the NBA on purpose two years after the Los Angeles Lakers and him both won the NBA title. Smith claimed “100%” in an interview with Complex Sports’ Pierce Simpson that he was being blacklisted from the NBA.
JR Smith: That’s a fact
Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Nick Young, and Isaiah Thomas were also added by Smith to the list of players that were blackballed. JR Smith claims that all these players, along with him, were blackballed, but not because of lack of skills.
“Anybody can sit here and tell you that that’s a fact”
Crawford officially retired in March, thus he cannot be blacklisted. Thomas, a free agent who has spent the past several seasons moving around the league, concluded the 2021–22 campaign with the Charlotte Hornets.
Johnson is the second-oldest active player in the NBA, behind Udonis Haslem, at 41 years old (42). After being signed to a 10-day deal with the Boston Celtics under the hardship exemption, he did play in one game with them last season.
Young, 37, spent the majority of his career as a journeyman, and he hasn’t competed in the NBA since the 2018–19 campaign. Smith loudly criticised the Cleveland Cavaliers for not striving to win when LeBron James left as a free agency during his final season with the team in 2018–19, presumably forcing his way out of the organisation.
The Goal isn’t to Win
JR Smith said that the goal isn’t to win, but to develope and lose to get lottery picks. He said,
“I don’t think the goal is to win. The goal isn’t to go out there and try to get as many wins as you can. I think the goal is to develop and lose to get lottery picks. I think that was always the plan.”
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JR Smith at NBA
Between the regular season and the playoffs, Smith participated in 16 games for the Lakers. In his 10 regular-season outings, the 36-year-old scored 2.8 points on 31.8 percent shooting on average.
Smith was up for trade, but the Cleveland Cavaliers held out for a partner to come along, so they eventually waived him in July 2019. Prior to joining the Lakers in Orlando for the start of the 2020 season, he was still a free agent.
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