Phil Jackson didn’t have the most flattering things to say about former Knicks players Iman Shumpert and JR Smith during this past off season. The harshest criticism was saved for JR at the time, as Phil aired out some of the personal talks they shared when Smith was still with the Knicks. It came off strange at the time that Phil would reveal a private conversation to the media and judging by Smith’s comments yesterday about it, he felt the same way.
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“J.R. had been exhibiting some delinquent behavior and had gotten into the habit of coming late to team meetings, or missing them altogether,” Jackson explained. “We talked about his statement to the press that our shooting guard depth was going to be the team’s asset, but so far it hadn’t worked out that way. He was supposed to carry the scoring load for the second unit, and he wasn’t doing his job. I also said that because of his unacceptable behavior, he had two strikes against him with this team. He didn’t really respond. He’s a very sensitive guy, with his big doe eyes. He looked like he was going to tear up. But he finally responded that he was going through some issues with his gal.”
As you might expect, JR was not happy that Phil had chosen to reveal one of their conversations and he claims it changed how he views people.
“It was crazy to me because I try to leave my personal life on the side and when somebody sits there, sits behind a desk and tells you to open up on what’s going on with you, you’re thinking that’s going to be between the two of y’all,” Smith said in an interview with ESPN.com on Friday morning. “So, for me, it tells me something I already knew. But to come from someone like Phil, it’s just, it’s crazy. It makes you not want to tell anybody anything [that has] anything to do with your business. It was tough, but that’s how he handles stuff, that’s how he does it.” …
Smith was asked on Friday if he thought Jackson’s disclosure of a private conversation would be questioned by others in the NBA.
“I’ve talked to a few people and they don’t understand why he did it, but I definitely won’t have that conversation with anybody else after that. So it just stuck with me. It’s all right,” Smith said.
None of this of course matters since they are part of different teams now but it was still surprising even at the time that Phil would speak on private matters.
