The Knicks have grown tired of his antics, apparently. They have put out feelers to determine whether there is interest in a trade for Smith, according to an ESPNNewYork.com report.

While Smith's $50,000 fine Wednesday for untying the shoelaces of opposing players didn't push the Knicks over the edge, the franchise has decided it is "fed up" with Smith, ESPNNewYork.com reports.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who has been a huge supporter of Smith, expressed frustration with his Sixth Man of the Year on Wednesday on the Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco Show, according to ESPNNewYork.com.

"I'm not happy about this, because he was warned, he comes back and he makes the same mistake, and it's not right," Woodson said. "It's just got to stop. I keep saying this every time something pops up, but it's got to stop."

Woodson defended Smith as recently as Sunday when Smith's bad shot at the end of the Knicks' loss to the Rockets cost them the game.

There are also basketball reasons for the Knicks to part with Smith, who has struggled after averaging 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds last season.

He had offseason knee surgery and missed five games to start the season because of a suspension for breaking the NBA's anti-drug policy. Since then, he's put up 11.3 points per game and shot 34.8 percent from the field and 62.8 at the free-throw line, both career lows.


DENG EXCITED


Luol Deng was surprised. His mom was shaken.

After learning he had been traded from the Bulls to the Cavaliers, Deng said the most difficult aspect of knowing he would no longer be playing for Chicago after nine seasons wasn't packing his bags or saying goodbye to teammates.

The hardest part was explaining to his mother, Martha, he had to move.

"She couldn't understand why," he said. "She feels like I'm a nice guy, I get along with everybody, so I had to explain to her. She was asking me, 'Are you not playing well? What's going on?' That was the hardest part."

It's gotten a little easier.

Deng began the next chapter in his NBA career Wednesday when he practiced with the Cavaliers for the first time. Cleveland acquired the two-time All-Star small forward Tuesday from the Bulls in exchange for center Andrew Bynum's salary cap-friendly contract and future draft picks.

Deng said he didn't see the trade coming. The 28-year-old knew a deal was always possible and an end to his run with the Bulls was inevitable, but it still caught him off guard.

"I've been very lucky," he said. "Not a lot of guys can say they've been with one organization for too long. I was definitely surprised. You hear stuff, you hear rumors, but some of it's true and some of it's not. When it happened, I couldn't believe it. It took a while to hit me. But it's not like I'm stopping from playing basketball. I've been traded from one great organization to another one."

The Cavs are counting on Deng to make a difference on and off the floor. A dependable scorer, solid defender and leader, Deng brings a winning attitude to a young Cleveland team undergoing growing pains.

"He's a veteran who's still in his prime," said coach Mike Brown. "He adds to the culture of what we're trying to do here. He's definitely a two-way player that can add an amount of professionalism, a maturity, and winning ingredients to any ball club."

Brown said Deng, who averaged 19 points and 6.9 rebounds, will likely start Friday night when the Cavs open a five-game road trip in Utah. The trip will help Deng's transition.

"It's great for him to get to know us, soon and better, and for us to get to know him," Brown said. "So you couldn't ask for it to happen at a better time."

During his first interview with Cleveland media, Deng flashed his wide smile and charmed reporters while recounting the whirlwind 36 hours since the trade was completed.

Deng recently turned down a contract extension from the Bulls, whose season shifted from contention to rebuilding after star point guard Derrick Rose was injured. Several of his former teammates expressed disappointment in seeing him leave, and Deng said it was tough knowing he won't play with them again.

"It's basketball at the end of the day, and it's my job," he said. "But the hardest thing is those are friends. It's really hard when you wake up the next day and know that your friend is gone and he's going to be competing against you. I think they understand the business part of it. It's a contract thing, and my time has come up. That's the direction the organization chose to go."

Deng is in the final year of his contract and is making $14 million this season. He's willing to discuss a long-term contract with the Cavs, who are 12-23 and currently out of playoff position.

"I'm definitely open to talking about it," he said. "I have no problem with that."


GASOL SCARE


Lakers center Pau Gasol has experienced trade rumors for quite a while, and this season has been no different.

Most recently, he was connected with a deal that would send him to the Cavaliers in exchange for Bynum as part of a cost-cutting effort by the Lakers. He learned that he was "traded" during intermission of a performance of "The Lion King" on Saturday night, only he hadn't actually been dealt, according to an ESPNLosAngeles.com report (via Ball Don't Lie).

"I checked my Twitter at intermission and I see that it's almost official," Gasol said. "I was getting all these messages, 'Farewell, Pau. Thanks for all your services,' all that stuff.

"It was a really good musical. I enjoyed it. I brought my parents and my little brother. It was a nice family time. But that kind of affected a little bit, the rest of the show."

There is still a chance that Gasol could be moved, with the Feb. 20 NBA trade deadline right around the corner. For the moment, he's still on the Lakers, but he expects more trade scenarios to arise in the interim.

"I don't really know how it really played out. I don't know the reason it didn't happen," he said. "I know probably that there will be other rumors and potential trades coming up, but I can't really worry about it. I just need to continue what I've been doing, which is come in and be ready to play and focus on what I need to do as a player for myself and my teammates."

The Lakers have struggled as of late, losing eight of their last nine games. They've done this with Gasol missing three games, but they're playing solid basketball when he's present. In fact, he's averaged 21.0 points and 13.3 rebounds in the past three games.

With Kobe Bryant working to return, the Lakers are unlikely to win games no matter what Gasol does. And the Lakers are interested in moving Gasol to drop salary and pick up free agents to play alongside Bryant in the future.

Gasol is aware of this, and he plans to just do his job and work through the rumors.

"What do you do? You continue to work, you continue to compete, you continue to bring your best effort. That's what you do," Gasol said. "That's all you can do. Continue to prepare, and hopefully that will give us a chance to win games and get wins.

"We have a good group of guys. We care about each other. We want each other to do well as a group, so I won't let distractions and rumors and things like that take anything away from myself and my teammates."


'HE GOT GAME' AGAIN


Jesus Shuttlesworth returns to the court this week. Jesus Shuttlesworth may return to the big screen in the future.

Heat guard Ray Allen, who played Shuttlesworth in the 1998 movie "He Got Game," says he and filmmaker Spike Lee have spent time over the past couple months discussing a sequel and are currently throwing ideas back and forth.

"Sequels to most movies are always fluff and not as good as the first," Allen said Tuesday night before the Heat played the Pelicans. "But it's something we've been talking about for the last couple months. If we get a really good story line and are able to bring everybody back, then it would be something worth doing."

Lee posted a photo of himself and Allen to a social media account last summer, saying then that they were engaging in sequel talk. It wasn't clear then how serious those conversations were.

Allen — who still gets called "Jesus" by teammates — said he's committed to making it happen.

"Hopefully it works out," said Allen, whose character in the film was a highly recruited high school basketball star.

Denzel Washington played his father, a prisoner who was paroled for one week to persuade his son to sign with the governor's alma mater. Rosario Dawson played his girlfriend.

Allen will have Shuttlesworth on the back of his Heat jersey when Miami plays the Nets on Friday. The name switch is part of a promotion by the teams.

Contributors: DeAntae Prince, The Associated Press