Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
It’s a rarity for former pro athlete to become a analyst in a sport they didn’t play, but J.R. Smith believes he can be an anomaly. The two-time NBA champion guard with the Cavaliers and Lakers wants to take his involvement in the golf to a different level. “I want to be the Snoop of golf,” Smith, 40, said in a recent interview with The Post, referring to the rapper’s past gigs as a special correspondent and commentator with NBC for three Olympic Games. “It’d be a great spot for me.”
Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard and two-time NBA champion JR Smith made his debut on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour this week. Smith will compete as an amateur in the APGA Michael Eaves Classic & Celebrity Pro-Am on Tuesday and Wednesday at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana.
Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard and two-time NBA champion JR Smith made his debut on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour this week. Smith will compete as an amateur in the APGA Michael Eaves Classic & Celebrity Pro-Am on Tuesday and Wednesday at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana. The 36-hole tournament features 46 players competing for a $25,000 purse, including $8,000 awarded to the winner.
Hosted by LeBron James, the luxury multi-country vacation featured core members of the historic 2015–16 roster, including Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, and Tristan Thompson, with Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova joining the group later. Despite playing in 13 games during that legendary postseason run, the 39-year-old Russian big was completely omitted from the planning. Speaking with the Russian outlet Sport Express on Friday, Timofey Mozgov revealed that nobody from the title-winning squad text messaged or called him to join the summer trip. “Yes, I saw the video of that party. No one wrote or called me. If I’d been invited, I’d have gladly joined. Of course, I’d have loved to be there too, to drink some wine,” he answered when asked if an invitation had been extended.
Richard Jefferson on thhe group chat dynamics of the 2016 Cavs: "When we talk about the group chat from the team, there's like six of us, and it's been the same six. There was the full team group chat, then there was the guys that were J.R., Swish, Tristan, Kevin, Channing, and Bron. So that's the group of us. And then we start doing, hey guys, we should get together, do some golf and go do this, and then a conversation kind of got started is, and like, hey, it would be wrong if we didn't invite some of the other guys because it's going to look like, we're calling it this championship. No, it was the group chat from the championship team, not the championship team group chat."
Advertisement
Nick Young on JR Smith in Game 1: "At the moment I didn't feel bad for him, I was wondering what was he doing? What is he doing? LeBron had 40 something, almost 50. He was cooking. And that was the main thing we was worried about. At the free throw line we thought, 'Oh man, it's over, we let one slip out.' And then when J.R. did that, it gave us hope again."
In a joint Instagram post Wednesday between James, Smith, Thompson and Frye, the caption read: "The group chat finally linked up." Another joint post between Jefferson, Love, Thompson and Frye included a video of Thompson delivering drinks to the group on the course, captioned: "We all have roles."
Notably absent was Kyrie Irving, who hit the go-ahead 3-pointer for Cleveland in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Smith seemingly addressed Irving's absence, commenting on a post about the reunion: "Missing none. He was invited and ghosted us all. So stop with that bs."
Speaking on Pivot Podcast, Smith explained his thought process during the final seconds of regulation. After grabbing an offensive rebound with the score tied late in the fourth quarter, Smith said he expected the Cleveland Cavaliers to call a timeout and organize a final possession. “I got the rebound. I’m thinking we’re going to call a timeout because at that point the game is possessional,” Smith said. Smith said his intention was to avoid forcing a difficult shot and create a better opportunity for James, who had scored 49 points in the game and carried Cleveland throughout the night. “I’m thinking, okay, bet. We’re not about to rush. We’re going to get the best shot possible. Any other time, you get the rebound, call timeout, get it to your best player and let them make the play,” Smith said.
Smith said he felt James expected him to make a decision that would maximize the team’s chances. “I’m literally looking at him like, ‘Bro, this is your job. That’s why you get the big bucks. They don’t pay me enough for this,’” Smith said.
Advertisement
JR Smith: "I played 16 years, I probably played 70% of my career depressed. That's crazy to think about. That's nuts. And to still be able to have a, I would say a good career, it wasn't great, it was a good career, but I literally think about this shit all the time, bro. My potential was so high in that aspect of it."
JR Smith: "I'm addicted to smoking because of a lot of the depression and pain that I feel and I don't know how to get out and express it. I've been to therapy, I don't trust therapists because a lot of them tell you what you want to hear. And I've learned to where I don't, me personally, I've been around enough people to kiss my ass, I don't really need that."
JR Smith: If I was capable of expressing myself and understand at an earlier age, I feel like a lot of my own thoughts wouldn't be to my detriment. And I didn't I didn't realize this until as I got older and and still even still, it's having those hard conversations, having the courage and boldness to have those tough conversations with people, you really find out that it's not that bad. It's not as bad as you think. And I didn't learn that for a long time and I feel like for me, if I was earlier on, I wish I'd have I wish I'd have had that."
Iman Shumpert had postgame commitments after the Knicks’ wild Game 4 win. He decided to make other plans. The former Knicks guard bailed on an ESPN podcast appearance Wednesday night so he could join the celebration outside Madison Square Garden after the Knicks’ dramatic NBA Finals comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs. Shumpert was set to appear on “The Hoop Collective” podcast but said he instead was heading to Seventh Avenue with J.R. Smith to celebrate with the fans outside MSG.