J.R. Smith: 'New York Knicks it is'

Jeremy Lin will have a new backcourt mate at Madison Square Garden.

Guard J.R. Smith, as expected, will join the New York Knicks. "New York Knicks It Is," Smith, who had been playing in the Chinese Basketball League, tweeted Friday. The Knicks announced the signing later in the day and said that Smith will not play in their Sunday game against the Mavericks.

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Smith adds an outside shooting threat to the Knicks' backcourt, which also includes rookie Iman Shumpert, Landry Fields and, at times, Toney Douglas. He reportedly was ready to accept a deal with, according to Yahoo! Sports, a player option for 2012-13 of $2.5 million, which would make the contract potentially worth $4.3 million.

Smith, 26, also will rejoin former Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony, who has missed time with a groin injury but is expected to play Friday against the New Orleans Hornets. Smith will take Renaldo Balkman's roster spot, who said on Twitter that his time in New York was done. Balkman was confirmed later Friday afternoon by general manager Glen Grunwald.

The potential downside for the Knicks: Smith has had attitude issues throughout his career and, like Anthony and big man Amare Stoudemire, takes a lot of shots.

The Los Angeles Clippers also expressed interest in Smith, who has averaged 12.5 points during his NBA career. Early on Thursday, Smith changed his Twitter bio to read "NYK? LAL? LAC?" Earlier in the week, Smith had listed additional teams.

Because of international basketball rules, most players who signed deals in China were not allowed to return to the NBA without buying out their contracts completely. Smith became available this week after the Chinese season ended.

The battle between the Clippers and Knicks was fierce: a Western Conference executive, speaking with The Oregonian characterized the situation as "a back-biting North Carolina-vs.-Kentucky-type recruiting war" that reportedly featured the Knicks sending a representative to intercept Smith at the airport in Los Angeles and a promise from Vinny Del Negro that Smith would start.