One thing you can’t blame Carmelo Anthony for is the J.R. Smith signing, The Post has learned.
Contrary to popular belief, Anthony was leery of the Knicks bringing in his former Denver teammate three weeks ago and gave a thumbs down to upper management, according to a person close to the Knicks superstar.
Publicly, Anthony said all the right things about Smith, who was fined $25,000 by the NBA Saturday for tweeting a photo of a partially naked woman in his Milwaukee hotel room.
A couple of weeks before the signing, Anthony was asked if the Knicks should sign his former teammate who has a thuggish reputation. Anthony and Smith share the same agent, Leon Rose.
“If it happens, it happens and I’ll be happy,” Anthony said publicly before the signing.
But, according to the source, Anthony was not gung-ho and was “hurt’’ Knicks upper management tossed his advice out the window.
Yesterday, Smith, who entered the game shooting 38.2 percent, was 4-of-13. Asked about the NBA’s punishment, Smith said, “I’m not really worried about that. We got to get it right as a team. We can’t worry about off-the-court stuff. Our issue right now is on the basketball court. Until we start winning games, that’s all I’m going to worry about.’’
Interim GM Glen Grunwald, when he spoke to the media for the only time this season, said Knicks personnel director Mark Warkentien, who was the Nuggets GM when Denver traded for Smith in 2006, was the most “instrumental’’ in signing Smith, who didn’t join a huddle in the second half in Milwaukee Friday.
* In his return from a hamstring strain and wrist issues, Tyson Chandler, who shaved his long beard, played 39 minutes and scored eight points with 12 rebounds.
“I’m not myself right now,’’ Chandler said. “I”ve got to help my team and battle through injuries.’’