Smith Fined $50,000 For Shoelace Incidents It was a totally reasonable request. After J. R. Smith was spotted untying one of Shawn Marion's sneaker laces in the Knicks" win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, N.B.A. officials privately reprimanded him and told him not to do it again. Coach Mike Woodson issued Smith the same warning before Tuesday's game against the Detroit Pistons. Yet Smith ignored both the league and his coach. Midway through the first quarter against the Pistons, Smith unsuccessfully reached for the laces on Greg Monroe's left sneaker as both players awaited a free-throw attempt. The episode was shown on live television and quickly began to circulate on social media. That Smith attempted to pull the stunt again - or pretended to do so - was brazen enough. That he did it in front of Rod Thorn, the league's director of basketball operations, who was at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks" 89-85 win, was almost unimaginable. On Wednesday, the N.B.A. fined Smith $50,000 for "recurring instances of unsportsmanlike conduct." It was a polite way of describing Smith's behavior, especially given his rocky past. J.R. Smith was fined $50,000 for "recurring instances of unsportsmanlike conduct." Frank Franklin II/Associated Press At the same time, the Knicks have grown increasingly frustrated with Smith's off-court antics. On ESPN Radio on Wednesday, Woodson said Smith needed to "grow up" and assessed his behavior as "unprofessional." "There's no question he's done a lot of things this year that has put him in a bad position and our team in a bad position," Woodson said, adding: "This is unacceptable. It's just got to stop. I keep saying this every time something pops up, but it's got to stop. Smith signed a three-year, $18 million deal during the off-season, meaning the Knicks would probably need to take back a bad contract or two in the unlikely event they were able to find a team willing to trade for him. The Knicks also have few draft picks to sweeten any potential offer. The season has been a struggle for Smith. Heading into Thursday's game against the defending champion Miami Heat, Smith is averaging 11.3 points a game and shooting a career-low 34.8 percent from the field. Against the Pistons, he finished with 6 points in 30 minutes - an afterthought in the Knicks" offense. Smith, a swingman who started the season by serving a five-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy, has paid about $105,000 in league-imposed penalties since joining the Knicks in 2011. In March 2012, the league fined him $25,000 for posting a picture of a half-naked woman on one of his social-media accounts. This season, he was docked $25,000 for threatening the Pistons" Brandon Jennings on Twitter. Smith, who had off-season knee surgery after signing his new deal, has also been suspended during his 10-year career for indiscretions ranging from reckless driving to fighting to "conduct detrimental to the team," back when he was playing for the Denver Nuggets. Before Tuesday's game, Woodson indicated that he was disappointed with Smith - and that was before the second shoelace incident. "He shouldn't be doing stuff like that," Woodson said. Smith responded to a fan on Twitter this week by writing that he tried to untie an opponent's sneaker "every game." Sure enough, Smith appeared to reach for one of Dwight Howard's sneakers during the Knicks" game against the Houston Rockets last Friday. That was the same game in which Smith tried a 3-point shot that might have cost the Knicks a victory. Smith later said that he thought the Knicks were trailing by 2 points, even though the score was tied. Smith, who did not speak with the news media Wednesday, posted a message on Twitter that read, "You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only option ... " He also posted a photograph of a lion. Minutes later, Smith took to Twitter again, this time with a different message: "Huge apologies to my team, to the league an most of all you the fans! #JRSmithSigningOff." The Knicks could be more short-handed than usual against the Heat. Tyson Chandler, Cole Aldrich, Raymond Felton and Andrea Bargnani were dealing with illnesses Wednesday, and Mike Woodson said the team had too few healthy players to practice.