There has been a war of words going back and forth between Manhattan and Brooklyn this summer and Knicks guard J.R. Smith is the latest to join the fray. "I just look at [Paul Pierce] as a bitter person just getting out of Boston. He doesn't really know what New York is all about. He's been playing in Boston his whole career," Smith told Ian Begley of ESPN New York on Saturday."Here's the latest out of MSG..
- Within the story, Smith also told Begley that doctors have yet to give him an exact timetable for his potential return. He should be back in action for the first Nets-Knicks showdown in early December, but his status for the season opener is still in question. The Knicks signed Smith to a lucrative four-year, $24.7MM deal this summer before the news of his surgery was disclosed.
- Andrea Bargnani told Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport that he'll miss Eurobasket with his national team due to pneumonia, but he wants to be ready for camp with the Knicks, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Bargnani is hoping to turn over a new leaf in New York after coming over via trade from the Raptors.
- Earlier today we learned that Chris Smith, J.R.'s younger brother, will be in camp with the Knicks.