Chris SmithIf the Battle For New York comes down to inexplicable acts of nepotism, it’ll be tough for the Brooklyn Nets to overcome what the New York Knicks just pulled off. The Knicks front office took a huge dump on the Garden faithful today by cutting the following players: Ike Diogu, C.J. Leslie, Josh Powell, Jeremy Tyler & Chris Douglas-Roberts.

It’s not so much a matter of who got cut, but rather who gets to remain on the team thanks to said cuts. Chris Smith, J.R. Smith’s younger brother, whose NBA career consists of one season in the D-League, a Summer League stint, and 20 minutes of preseason action, earned (and we use that term very loosely) himself a spot on the Knicks roster out of (as head coach Mike Woodson put it) “respect” for J.R.

It almost goes without saying: the circus in Midtown is back.

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