[Video] Rest Easy, NBA Shoelaces: JR Smith Fined $50K for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

This is unacceptable. It’s just got to stop. – MIKE WOODSON

JR Smith’s reign of terror on the shoelaces of fellow NBA players has come to end with the league announcement of a $50,000 fine for what the NBA has termed as “repeated unsportsmanlike conduct.”

The fine came down after footage from last night’s win over the Detroit Pistons exposed Smith attempting to untie the laces of Greg Monroe while at the free throw line. This was the third time Smith has been caught in camera doing this. It was previous done against the Maverick’s Shawn Marion and the Rockets’ Dwight Howard.

Prior to last night’s game, Knicks coach Mike Woodson declared that Smith’s behavior had no place in basketball. Smith revealedon Twitter that he usually does the shoelace trick at least once a game.

At press time, Smith has not commented on the fine.

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JR is going to learn one day that his reputation precedes him and not in a good way. After missing the first five games of the season due to a drug suspension, you’d think he’d be more careful in how he carries himself. D-Wade got away with a lot worse against the Knicks a few years back in the playoffs and that’s only because he doesn’t have a rep for involving himself in nonsense (at least on the court). And it didn’t help Smith any that Rod Thorn, the NBA Director of Operations, was in attendance last night.

If you already don’t like JR, you’ll use this as just another example of how he’s a detriment to the team. For me, an untied shoelace is the least of my worries. If anything, his play so far this year justifies few fines. Still, I’m maintaining my All-Star break deadline for him to get it together. I also haven’t forgotten Woody’s early season proclamation that the off-season knee-surgery will take JR most of the season to bounce back from. In the meantime, Woody needs to put some backbone behind his words and sit JR when his actual play becomes a liability.