JR Smith and Brandon Jennings made headlines after the two fought on Twitter over the controversial signing of Smith's brother to the New York Knicks. The two engaged in a war of words that appeared to reach a threatening level after Smith tweeted that he was going to send some of his "homies" up to Detroit. Now, the NBA is investigating the matter, leaving both players backtracking on their words.
The entire war of words between the two players stems from Smith's brother, Chris. The New York Knicks signed the brother to a $2 million contract, becoming the first D-League player to earn a contract of that size. It has become a running joke in the NBA. Head coach Mike Woodson even admitted that having J.R. on the roster played a big role in why Chris was not released after the Tyson Chandler injury in order to make room for another player in the salary cap.
Now, Smith has to backup his tweets he sent to Jennings after the Detroit point guard made a joke about the signing on Twitter. The Knicks star told reporters that he in no way meant to threaten Jennings with his tweet, adding that it was simply friendly fire and the two are actually very close despite what the fight may have looked like.
"It's not that serious. I go to L.A. in the summertime and see him all the time ... I don't know how it got this blow out of proportion," Smith said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "I was definitely frustrated because you get tired of people trying to pick on your little brother, so it's my little brother, I'm going to step up for him, good bad or ugly. So it's not just to Brandon. It's to anybody who says anything about him."
Smith notes that his brother is often the subject of a lot of online criticism and he does not believe he deserves it. so when Jennings made the tip on social media, the former Sixth Man of the Year felt the need to fire back. Chris Smith tweeted out that he was too classy to engage in online fighting, probably because he was getting paid either way.
This is not the first time Twitter has gotten Smith in trouble. He was fined $25,000 back in 2012 after he posted inappropriate pictures of a woman on his account. Smith said he was just trying to shake things up but is considering a hiatus from social media. Mike Woodson told Smith if he was going to tweet, it better be something positive.
