J.R. Smith: “I Would Do The Shoelace Thing Again”

After winning Sixth Man of the Year during the 2012-13 season, J.R. Smith was one of the many disappointments on the New York Knicks last year. He was also fined $50,000 for untying Shawn Marion‘s sneaker during a free throw attempt, which the league deemed unsportsmanlike conduct. In an interview this week, J.R. said the only thing he regrets about the incident was the fine.

If you don’t remember, here was the shoelace incident:

Via Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report, J.R. talked about his perception as a wild child and specifically addressed the shoelace incident:

Zwerling: What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?

Smith: People think I’m just some wild child, that I’m just somebody that bugs out all the time and doesn’t care. That’s the main thing that pisses me off the most. People who actually take the time to come [to my golf tournament] and get to know me, they know what I’m about. But some people don’t really care to come.

Zwerling: Do you think that stems from your occasional antics, like when you got fined last season for untying your opponents’ shoelaces?

Smith: I do care about the fines because it’s loss of money, but other than that, I like to have fun. I would do [the shoelace thing] again if there wasn’t a fine. But now that I’m in my 10th year in the NBA, I take the game more seriously than I did my first five, six years.

His response is not a big surprise given that soon after he received the fine, J.R. was spotted at a nightclub making fun of the incident:

https://twitter.com/JonahKaner/status/421728915590500353

J.R. has spoken this summer about becoming a leader. With Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher running the organization, we’re assuming they will not tolerate any distractions from J.R. or anyone else on the team.

So, the days of J.R. entertaining us with his on-court antics appear to be a thing of the past.