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The 3-point bombers will be back on Broadway.
Eight hours after shooting ace Steve Novak agreed to return to the Knicks on a four-year, $15 million contract, high-scoring sub J.R. Smith stopped fielding offers and accepted the standing proposal of a two-year deal starting at $2.8 million in the first season with a player option for the second. The deal is the maximum the Knicks were able to offer Smith — who may become the starting shooting guard if the Knicks decide not to match the $19 million offer sheet the Raptors extended to Landry Fields — under the rules of the CBA.
Smith’s agency CAA released a statement late last night on Smith’s behalf: “I just felt that, despite my other options, New York is the best situation for me. Coach Woodson showed a lot of faith and trust in me last season, as did Mr. Dolan and the organization. My teammates are great to play with and the New York fans are the best!”
Novak’s package was made possible by the union’s victory over the NBA in the early-Bird exception rights arbitration case.
— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post
