NBA’s Sixth Man, J.R. Smith To Stay With Knicks

The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year opted out of his deal to test the free-agent market, but it turns out J.R. Smith is sticking with the New York Knicks.

Several outlets are reporting that New York agreed to terms with both Smith and point guard Pablo Prigioni.

Smith's agent has told reporters that his client and agreed to a four-year deal worth about $25 million dollars, according to ESPN:

The contract is the maximum amount the Knicks can give Smith via the early Bird rights, which allows a team to offer the average player salary with standard annual raises of 7.5 percent. The league's financial figures for 2013-14 will be released next week, but the average salary is projected at approximately $5.5 million.

Smith came off the bench in all 80 games he played in last season, averaging 18.1 in over 33 minutes, while shooting a little over 35% from 3-point range during the regular season.

After getting off to a good start in the playoffs, the Smith struggled mightily in the Pacers series - 13.5 ppg, and an overall 29% from the field.

Smith did excite the crowd with several buzzer-beaters throughout the season, including a long 3-pointer to end a quarter in the team's opening round playoff series with the Celtics, and a game-winning fade away from just inside the stripe against the Bobcats: