Shawn Marion Buries Sneaker Beef with J.R. Smith

Shawn Marion Buries Sneaker Beef with J.R. Smith

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Complex Original

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Let's rewind to almost exactly a year ago when the Dallas Mavericks played host to the New York Knicks with Dirk Nowitizki at the free throw line. While getting ready to jockey for position underneath the hoop, J.R. Smith slyly bent over and untied the sneaker of Dallas' Shawn Marion, in what would end up being a recurring antic from the enigmatic shooting guard which would eventually result in a $50,000 fine.

Fast forward to a year later and Smith and Marion are now teammates on the Cavaliers after the three-team trade that sent J.R. and Iman Shumpet to Cleveland from New York. So what does Marion think of his new teammate's antics from a year go? As far as the former All-Star and NBA champion is concerned, it's all water under the bridge.

"That was irrelevant," Marion said. "You all blew it out of proportion. He was joking on the floor and that's all it was. You all tried to make something out of nothing and it's kind of messed up. He got labeled. You all made it into a big negative and it was just a horseplay thing. That's kind of messed up."

Something tells us that Marion would have reacted differently to that question had J.R. not just been shipped to his team, but good for Marion for standing up for his new teammate. Who knows what type of stunts J.R. has in store for his arrival in Cleveland, but it should only add to the ongoing circus that the Cavs are turning into. Relive Smith and Marion's sneaker incident below and tune in tonight when Smith could make his Cleveland debut.

[ESPN]

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