Chris Smith will have knee surgery, miss three to six months.

The reporters at training camp just got word that Chris Smith-- brother of J.R. Smith and semi-questionable training camp signing-- needs pretty serious surgery on what had previously been called a "sore left knee". Al Iannazzone:

J.R's brother Chris Smith will have left patella tendon surgery...out 3-6 mos.

First of all, we wish a full recovery to the younger Smith. He seems like a cool li'l bro, and for all our cries of nepotism, a roster featuring The Brothers Smith would have been pretty incredible.

That said, Smith didn't perform well in Las Vegas summer league and didn't seem like a strong candidate to earn a guaranteed deal out of training camp anyway. The Knicks have two open roster spots-- one of which may or may not be reserved for Rasheed Wallace-- and guys like Mychel Thompson, John Shurna, and Henry Sims (sorry, Oscar Bellfield) have stood out more in training camp so far.

Smith hasn't been waived or anything yet, so it remains to be seen if New York intend to replace him to bring the preseason roster back up to the maximum of 20. This late in camp, I doubt it, but you never know. There are plenty of unsigned free agents still out there, including some relatively big names. In the meantime, we'll have to make due with just the lone Smith bro.

Update: Nate Taylor reports that Smith, James White (sore hamstring), and Rasheed Wallace (unfit to play sports) will not travel to Washington for tomorrow's preseason game.