J.R. Smith dropped 60 points in a Chinese League game Wednesday. Here’s the box score showing that the former Denver Nuggets and St. Benedict’s Prep guard went 14-for-18 from beyond the arc and also added eight rebounds — off the bench — in the Zhejiang Cyclones’ 122-110 win over Qingdao Double Star. Former Nets and UConn big man Josh Boone added 18 points in the win. Smith is one of several Americans playing in China who can’t join the NBA until their season’s end. Kenyon Martin is considering the Knicks, Hawks, Clippers, Heat and Spurs and will decide by the end of this week, according to his agent, Andy Miller. Clippers guard Chauncey Billups told reporters he wants Martin in Los Angeles. “He’s very valuable,” Billups told the L.A. Times. “Of course, he comes from winning stock. He’s been to the [NBA] Finals twice. He has great ability. He is a leader. One thing I know about Kenyon, he’s a winner. He’ll do whatever it takes to win. He’s one of the great one-on-one defensive players for a big man I’ve played with. And, contrary to what everybody believes, he’s a really good dude.” Former Knick Wilson Chandler, whom the team dealt in the Carmelo Anthony trade, is also playing in China and has reportedly expressed interest in re-joining his old team. As for Smith, his father, Earl, told SNY.tv, that his son is “just concentrating on what he’s gotta get done.” Earl seemed to dismiss the Knicks, who only have the $2.5 million mini-level available, as an option. “So $2.5 million, come on,” he said. Asked generally about the guys in China, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said, “I think those are the things you monitor, yeah, I think those are the things you keep your eye on. “And what do we have, the $2.5 [million] exception left? And we’ll sit there and look at it. If it makes sense, we’ll do it in a heartbeat. If it doesn’t make sense then we’ll take a pass.”
J.R. Smith dropped 60 points in a Chinese League game Wednesday. Here’s the box score showing that the former Denver Nuggets and St. Benedict’s Prep guard went 14-for-18 from beyond the arc and also added eight rebounds — off the bench — in the Zhejiang Cyclones’ 122-110 win over Qingdao Double Star. Former Nets and UConn big man Josh Boone added 18 points in the win. Smith is one of several Americans playing in China who can’t join the NBA until their season’s end. Kenyon Martin is considering the Knicks, Hawks, Clippers, Heat and Spurs and will decide by the end of this week, according to his agent, Andy Miller. Clippers guard Chauncey Billups told reporters he wants Martin in Los Angeles. “He’s very valuable,” Billups told the L.A. Times. “Of course, he comes from winning stock. He’s been to the [NBA] Finals twice. He has great ability. He is a leader. One thing I know about Kenyon, he’s a winner. He’ll do whatever it takes to win. He’s one of the great one-on-one defensive players for a big man I’ve played with. And, contrary to what everybody believes, he’s a really good dude.” Former Knick Wilson Chandler, whom the team dealt in the Carmelo Anthony trade, is also playing in China and has reportedly expressed interest in re-joining his old team. As for Smith, his father, Earl, told SNY.tv, that his son is “just concentrating on what he’s gotta get done.” Earl seemed to dismiss the Knicks, who only have the $2.5 million mini-level available, as an option. “So $2.5 million, come on,” he said. Asked generally about the guys in China, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said, “I think those are the things you monitor, yeah, I think those are the things you keep your eye on. “And what do we have, the $2.5 [million] exception left? And we’ll sit there and look at it. If it makes sense, we’ll do it in a heartbeat. If it doesn’t make sense then we’ll take a pass.”