It hasn’t taken J.R. Smith very long to upset his new employers in the Far East.
Smith, an NBA free agent who signed a $3-million deal with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in September, suffered a knee injury and was forced to leave the team’s opening game on No.v 20, a blowout loss to Guangdong Hongyuan, in the fourth quarter.
Reports vary as to what happened next but he either went back to a hotel with his sister or left in an ambulance. Either way, the former Denver Nugget refused further treatment on the injury.
The following day, Smith announced he was headed to Beijing to get an MRI on his injured knee.
The Golden Bulls weren’t happy about the trip.
Team manager Zhao Bing issued a warning for Smith on Weibo Monday afternoon, saying that the club wanted him back as soon as possible, or “he will face the consequences.”
Bing even suggested that Smith may have been faking the injury.
“Everyone saw the pain on Smith’s face after he got hurt. Compare that to the results of his exam,” he said. “We’re all intelligent people, we should all know what’s going on here. When you compare his performance on the court with the game’s final result, you’ll realize. When he was injured, would he have had that big of a reaction (if the score was closer)?”
A team insider told China Daily that the Golden Bulls are considering waiving Smith, as Zhejiang are said to be fed up with the NBA star’s demands.
According to Bing, the club had provided Smith with a presidential suite at a cost of C$1,122.69 per day, arranged a special chef and spent C$115,067 on insurance. Smith then requested a villa in either Shanghai or Hangzhou and a driver.
Golden Bulls head coach Ding Wei also told the web site that Smith has already called in sick three times. And on one of the days he was playing hooky, his coach said he was discovered to be shopping in Shanghai.
Smith’s examination turned out negative and he returned to Zhejiang to play in the Golden Bulls home opener. Smith helped the team to victory by scoring 16 points while grabbing six boards and dishing out four assists.