WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Some people might be offended if you compared them to Dennis Rodman.
Those people aren't New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith.
Smith said Tuesday that it was an “honor” to be compared to Rodman by Knicks president Phil Jackson.
“Last time I checked, Dennis Rodman got, what, three-four rings [Rodman has five]. I’m not offended by that,” Smith said. “It’s an honor. He’s a Hall of Famer. And to be put in the same [sentence] as a Hall of Famer is something special. So I’m not offended at all.”
Jackson compared the heavily tattooed Smith to the heavily tattooed Rodman in an interview last week with the New York Post. Jackson invoked Rodman’s name when he was asked if he could “get through” to Smith. Both players have run afoul of the NBA, but for different transgressions.
“I don’t know if that’s possible or not,” Jackson said of getting through to Smith. “He might be one of those guys that’s a little bit like Dennis Rodman that has an outlier kind of side to him. But I’m gonna get to know him as we go along, and we’ll find a way to either make him a very useful player on our organization, or whatever.”
Given Jackson's comments, it will be interesting to see how head coach Derek Fisher uses Smith this year.
Amar’e (slightly) limited in practice: Amar'e Stoudemire practiced for the first two hours before watching the last 30 minutes of the opening practice on Tuesday.
Fisher said the plan is to manage Stoudemire’s health and knees so that the power forward will be available for the long haul this season.
“He played 67 or 68 games last year, missed some games with an ankle injury and the flu,” Fisher said. “Without those things, he probably would have played 70-plus games a year ago. We think that plan that we have will work. Part of it today was monitoring his level. We got to that point where we felt like it was time to pull him out.”
Fisher said the plan was for Stoudemire, whose minutes have been limited the past two seasons due to knee injuries, to practice in the night session and to also participate in Wednesday’s practice.
"Last time I checked Dennis Rodman got, what? Three-four rings [Rodman has five]. I'm not offended by that." J.R. Smith
“I don’t think a decision has been made on back-to-backs,” Fisher said of how Stoudemire will be used during the season. “We obviously start out, our first month is amazing in terms of the toughness of the schedule and the back-to-backs right from the jump.
“We’re hoping if we manage the month of October the right way it will give Amar’e, as well as all of our guys, the best chance to move through the first month of our season, not just in shape but still go to another level.”
Smith calls it an “honor” to be at West Point: Smith and the Knicks seemed to be impressed by what they saw at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the site of this team’s training camp.
“Honestly, it is an honor," Smith said of being at camp. "I have never really been around situations like this, the self-discipline, the mentality that you have to have to be in a group like this at West Point."
The shooting guard also had a few interesting things to say about staying at West Point and about his arrival.
“I made it through security. I was like, ‘Hey man, I come in peace. I don’t want no problems over here,’” Smith said. “Dude had his big AK-47.”
Smith was asked if he’ll have any questions for Cadets on campus.
“I got a lot of questions. I want to see how it is like. I want to see how the hell they are doing it. Because I don’t know if I can do it,” Smith said.
He later added: “I definitely don’t think I can do [it]. ... If I wake up at 5 am, go to sleep at 6, I don’t think that works with my schedule. That is a different lifestyle.”