J.R. Smith could be back in blue and orange this season.
According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the free agent guard is "nearing an agreement" to come back to New York. That's according to a source who also told him they're finalizing the number of years and options.
The Post's Marc Berman then tweeted "Earl Smith, J.R.'s father, told Post nothing will be signed until Friday. Still can get better offer. So far none have bowled J.R. over."
As various guards from J.J. Redick to Kevin Martin got new jobs around the NBA, much of the talk about Smith was that league openings for shooting guards were closing up. But there were also reports that Smith preferred to stay in New York despite the fact that he could get more money elsewhere and given how he's coming off his best year as a pro.
Nothing is official, of course. But if the Knicks do bring back the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, the attention will then turn to what they'll do with restricted free agents like Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland as well as who they could bring with their mini mid-level exception.