Knicks coach Mike Woodson is so disgusted with J.R. Smith and his recent shoelace caper, he wouldn't entertain questions about him before Thursday night's Garden showdown against the Miami Dream Team.
Perhaps under an organization gag order so as not to damage Smith's trade value any further, Woodson said the Smith sneaker topic is off limits and made it seem he's done talking about his mercurial shooting guard, period.
One day after Woodson went off on Smith, saying his renegade behavior "has got to stop,'' Woodson put a stop to queries during his pregame press conference. Owner James Dolan is very conscious of coaches ripping players in the press.
When The Post asked if he had talked to Smith again since the $50,000 fine came down, Woodson said, "Guys, in fairness to our team, I'm not addressing anything with J.R. I'm not. Just not.''
Why not?
"Just not going to do it.''
Can you at least explain if you met with him again?
"I'm not addressing anything with J.R. Let's talk about the game.''
Though Woodson was clearly not about to defend Smith, the NBA Players' Association is considering doing so, according to a source.
But first, Smith and the Knicks violated league rules again before Thursday night's game as Smith was not made available to the media before the game for the second straight home contest. Under the NBA policy, the Knicks don't allow availability to their home shootarounds but have to make players requested available to the media during a 30-minute window before the game.
Woodson said plenty on his radio show Wednesday following the $50,000 fine the NBA slapped Smith with Wednesday. Smith had untied the shoelace of Shawn Marion, who has bad ankles, Sunday in Dallas. The NBA interrogated Smith and gave him a stern warning.
That didn't stop him from mocking the league, appearing to make an attempt at untying Greg Monroe's shoes while the two players waited for free throws. Monroe moved his sneaker away, and it did appear Smith was just making a fake attempt.
"No, I'm not happy about this. Because he was warned, he comes back and he makes the same mistake, and it's not right," Woodson said on his radio show. "I'm going to address it [Thursday] when he comes in here for work, because it's unacceptable. It really is. It's unprofessional. … You just cannot do it."
The Players Association is debating whether to appeal Smith's latest $50,000 fine for "recurring instances of unsportsmanlike conduct'' violations and "attempted to repeat the action'' against Detroit after a warning.
One argument would be Smith didn't touch Monroe's shoelaces Monroe. The NBA would have to make an assumption in reading Smith's intent on the second violation. The appeal would contend Smith was being fined only for the first violation in Dallas with Shawn Marion.
The union discussed the matter with Smith's agent, Leon Rose.
One theory for Woodson keeping mum on Smith is the Knicks don't want to hurt his trade value any further. He is eligible to be traded Jan. 15 under a quirk in the collective bargaining agreement for 2013 free agents. Virtually all other 2013 free agents were eligible Dec. 15.
Smith's trade value has hit a new low and sources insist the Knicks seriously would consider trading Smith for a young player or draft pick. They have a shooting-guard glut and now feel Iman Shumpert is the more dependable player.
Smith's arrival in New York midway through the 2012 lockout season was trumpeted by personnel director Mark Warkentien, who had also traded for him when he was with the Nuggets. Dolan also was Smith's biggest supporter.
It appears Smith lost Knicks brass with his "betrayal'' tweet recently after his brother Chris Smith got cut. Dolan had guaranteed Chris Smith's contract at $491,000 — which was highly unusual for an end-of-the-bench player. With luxury tax, Dolan stood to fork over $2.1 million for Chris Smith, who most scouts don't consider an NBA player. For that, Dolan got accused of "betrayal.''
LeBron James did talk before the game Thursday and said he has had his shoes untied in a game by an opponent.
"Yeah, I've got my shoes untied,'' James said. "I've been punched, pinched, I've been a little bit of everything. I'd probably just smile about it and put my shoes back on.''
At Miami's shootaround at the Garden, Shane Battier said about the shoelace caper, "My reaction would be, 'You know what? It's time for me to retire from the NBA. It's about time for me to step away from the league,' " Battier said. "I'm close to that point, but if that happens. I'll know it's time for me to go."
Fred Kerber contributed to this report
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