PHILADELPHIA — The trend for Mike Woodson as Knicks coach is don’t fix what’s not broken.
The Knicks, who have won four of five games, including three straight, didn’t look broken in their win over the Heat on Thursday at the Garden when Woodson kept J.R. Smith’s shoelaces tied to the bench for 48 minutes. The coach stuck with a taut eight-man rotation that wore down the Miami Dream Team with smart defense and clutch fourth-quarter shooting.
Indications are Smith is still on the outs and to expect more of the same as the Knicks probably will go J.R.-free against the Sixers on Saturday at Wachovia Center.
If there’s remorse from Smith, it didn’t show after the Miami game Thursday night when he was photographed in a Manhattan nightspot, 1Oak, posing for a photo untying a clubber’s shoelace.
The Smith banishment appears to have the full support of unamused Knicks owner James Dolan, who was once Smith’s biggest fan but was stung when Smith publicly accused the organization of “betrayal’’ for releasing his brother, Chris, two weeks ago.
A source said Dolan was disappointed at J.R. Smith’s “betrayal’’ Instagram after shelling out — including luxury tax penalties — $2.1 million for Chris Smith, whom most scouts believe is a D-League talent. Most people who cross Dolan never get back in his good graces, but it’s unclear if this constitutes irreparable damage.
Smith said after the Miami game he’s unsure of his future with the franchise as the club can trade him starting Wednesday under a quirk in the collective bargaining agreement, but his three-year, $19 million pact very likely is untradeable. The Knicks are capable at shooting guard with improving Iman Shumpert and impressive rookie Tim Hardaway Jr., but could need Smith’s potential explosiveness down the road.
Smith’s latest series of gaffes include untying the shoelace of Shawn Marion, who has bad ankles, in Dallas and then faking an attempt at Greg Monroe’s laces the following game after the NBA and Woodson warned him to stop. He got fined $50,000 by the league, though the union is considering appealing.
The absurdity of Smith’s misbehavior is compounded because it is occurring while he suffers through a bad shooting funk that has him at 34.8 percent. To demonstrate how terrible that percentage is, the last full-time player to finish the season shooting less than 35 percent while averaging 30 minutes was Johnny McCarthy, who did it 54 years ago, in 1959-1960. It is not believed McCarthy got fined for untying an opponent’s shoelaces.
Woodson and Dolan could be playing with fire. Smith is represented by the CAA agency that represents free-agent-to-be Carmelo Anthony.
According to a league source, it was CAA advisor William Wesley who influenced Dolan to originally sign Smith when he returned from a checkered stint in China in 2012, which then-general manager Glen Grunwald opposed.
Not only will Woodson likely not play Smith barring unusual circumstances, but he may refuse to talk about the controversial shooting guard again — almost as if Smith’s dead to him. Woodson declined to comment about Smith before and after the Miami game. When asked if this rotation will stick going forward, Woodson smirked and said, “We’ll see.’’
For his part, Smith said Woodson didn’t give him a heads-up on his benching and they didn’t speak afterward either. Smith didn’t join the huddle during timeouts.
Anthony privately has had his issues with Smith’s troublemaking ways, but he supported Smith after the Miami victory.
Anthony called the Smith benching “not life and death” and added “I need him Saturday in Philly.’’
Kenyon Martin is also an outspoken supporter of Smith; they were close in Denver.
“It’s a stupid joke that went too far,’’ Martin said. “Everybody made a big deal of it and the league jumps on it. It’s an unfortunate situation. I hate to see someone lose his hard-earned money and can’t help his team win. J.R.’s a big part of this team. And he’s going to be a big part of this team from here on out.’’
That remains to be seen.