One of president Phil Jackson’s big decisions this season is whether to trade J.R. Smith, and the club had recent conversations with the Pacers regarding ex-Knick Chris Copeland, according to a league source.
The 6-foot-9 Copeland has an expiring contract after bolting the Knicks for a two-year, $6 million deal, so he wouldn’t affect their 2015 cap space.
Smith, meanwhile, can opt out of the $6.4 million he has coming in 2015-16, but there’s still a chance he will wait to be a free agent until 2016 when the salary cap is expected to rise dramatically.