Begley: Chris Smith will come to training camp with the Knicks

I swear there were points this summer at which we were told this wouldn't happen, but it will: According to Ian Begley, Chris Smith, younger brother of the recently signed J.R. Smith and middling Knicks Summer Leaguer, will join the Knicks in training camp. Pretty much all of what I wrote about the first iteration of this story still stands: I don't think Smith distinguished himself in Las Vegas and I can't imagine him actually competing for a roster spot, but I suppose when you sign one Smith, you sign the whole family, at least for a non-guaranteed camp deal (no word on whether Earl Sr. got an invite).

Last year, a knee injury sent Chris home early from training camp, so this will be a second chance to see how deeply beSmithed the Knicks are. They've got 12 guaranteed contracts signed plus two non-guaranteed deals for Jeremy Tyler and C.J. Leslie, guys who seem likely to make the team. So that's a penciled-in 14 out of 15 right there. Basically, it would take a training camp explosion from Smith or some seriously yucky favoritism from management for Li'l Nepotiz to even sniff the final roster. If it were up to me, I'd be more inclined to fill that final spot with a big man, but if the Knicks do feel they need another guard, I hope Toure' Murry (who far outplayed Smith in Vegas) or perhaps Stefhon Hannah (who worked out for the Knicks in Vegas and has a pretty impressive D-League resume) gets a real chance. Then again, if I were someone like Murry-- who's been sitting on his camp invite for a while-- I'd probably head elsewhere after seeing news like this.

It'd be super fun to have both Brothers Smith around, but not if one of them isn't remotely ready for the NBA. Either way, it sounds like we've got our fifteenth training camp attendee. I look forward to seeing who else comes along.