To say J.R. Smith’s tenure in New York has been somewhat unpredictable is like saying that Justin Bieber is kinda known by teenage girls—it’s a gross understatement.

When a team like the New York Knicks, the NBA’s reigning Atlantic Division champions, have to dig their way out of a hole they’ve dug for themselves in a rather uninspired 2013-14 season of basketball, they need all the help they can get. So when last year’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year starts to not only underachieve, but to flat out become a distraction, it’s time for the warning sirens to start blaring in the front office.

Smith, 28, has all of the tools and potential in the world to be one of the best and most exciting players in the NBA. He’s athletic, explosive, and fearless when it comes to taking shots, or even the big shot, as evidenced by these gems against Phoenix:

Or this one against Charlotte last season:

He’s also got veteran stripes, having been in the league for nine seasons. And it seemed that last year, Smith was finally realizing his potential when he posted a career-best 18.1 points for the Knicks as he handily took the league’s sixth man award—the first Knick to do so since the sensational John Starks won it in 1996—while helping provide the Knicks with an explosive, superstar-like presence off the bench, confounding opponents with his relentless offense and seemingly boundless energy as New York won its first division title since the Patrick Ewing era. Through the regular season that year, it seemed Smith could do no wrong.

And then came the 2013 NBA Playoffs, when Smith’s demeanor, along with his career, started to unravel.

The first sign of trouble came during the Knicks’ first round series against their hated rival the Boston Celtics. With New York dominating the first three games of the series, the Knicks were poised to sweep Boston and win their first playoff series since 2000. But then, Smith got himself suspended for the critical Game 4 after throwing a questionable elbow into the chin of Boston’s Jason Terry. It was as if the series’ momentum switched back to the Celtics’ side on that one elbow blow—well, that and the Knicks stupidly deciding to wear all black for Game 5, which riled up the former world champions enough to breathe life back into a Celtics team on the ropes—as Boston mounted a serious comeback bid that threatened to deal the Knicks one of the most embarrassing series losses in NBA history.

The Knicks ended up winning that series in six games, but something changed about Smith’s play after that fateful Game 3. After starting out aggressive and tenacious, the Knicks’ sixth man, who was averaging 16.3 points on 43.5 percent shooting in those first three playoff games, suddenly became ineffective, his shot starting to become errant, his focus wandering and his actions becoming erratic on and off the court—as pop singer Rihanna let the world know when she mocked Smith for getting drunk and partying all night with her during the Knicks’ playoff run. His final tally over the Knicks’ last eight playoff games was a mere 13.5 points on dreadful 29.1 percent shooting from the field—well under the superb standards Smith set for himself over an 80-game regular season.

Despite those antics, the Knicks were willing to offer Smith a three-year, $17.95 million contract shortly after the season ended, with Smith earning a ringing endorsement from Knicks star and old Denver Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony. However, instead of maturing with New York’s contract offer and their investment in his potential, he seems to have taken a turn for the worst in the first half of this season.

Aside from shooting only 32 percent from the floor for only 11.9 points—his third-lowest career total so far—he’s been getting into trouble on and off the court. Among Smith’s follies, as if struggling to come back from offseason leg surgery wasn’t enough, have been a five-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, being fined for threatening Detroit’s Brandon Jennings via Twitter for insulting Smith’s brother, Chris, and trying to untie the shoelaces of two opposing players earlier this month. Add that to his questionable shot selection and his inconsistent defense, and Smith has become a full blown liability. In fact, Smith’s antics have become so distracting that Knicks coach Mike Woodson publically issued a straightforward dressing down of the streaky shooting guard last week:

“"The bottom line is he's got to be more of a pro and do the right things and just concentrate on playing basketball," the Knicks coach said, as reported by ESPN. "That's the name of the game, nothing else. You got to concentrate on your craft and what you're being paid to do -- that's play basketball. ... That's all I want him to do."

While Smith said he learned to “just don't take this opportunity here you have for granted” after being benched against Miami earlier this month, the fact is that there have been just too many red flags in the last year and a half for the Knicks to ignore. It’s one thing for Smith to just have to worry about getting back in game shape after knee surgery; the pains and struggles of that are challenge enough for a team to handle when they happen to key players. Just ask the Chicago Bulls about their own ordeal with Derrick Rose. But when you factor in the bizarre antics and the immature behavior, that’s a headache that no team needs. Dennis Rodman, a five-time NBA champion, was known for even more outlandish antics, but during the Bulls’ second dynasty, he was able to use his bizarre nature to his advantage, getting in the heads of his opponents and distracting them to the point of frustration. The only thing Smith has been distracting lately is his team and his coaches.

For years, the Knicks have been a joke in the NBA, a team known more for their mismanagement and bloated contracts to marginal players than they were for winning and being perennial title contenders, as they were back in the mid 1990s. Through years of carefully crafted planning, trades and signings under former Knicks president Donnie Walsh, New York had slowly crawled back into legitimacy, even fueling hopes of an NBA championship banner being hung from the rafters of Madison Square Garden. At this critical juncture, with the season dangerously close to going off the rails thanks to ill-timed injuries and terrible shooting and Anthony mulling over whether it’s worth staying a Knick or heading for greener pastures, the Knicks need all the help and reliable hands they can get…and Smith might be able to help them get such players.

Just not in a Knicks jersey.

The Knicks would have a hard sell of it at the trade deadline next month trying to move an erratic, unpredictable shoot-first guard recovering from a leg injury with $15 million left on his contract, but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be any takers. If they can shave Smith’s salary off the cap and get a few decent role players, perhaps some much-needed help in the backcourt like a pass-first point guard, the Knicks would be in better position for 2015, when Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler come off the books and leave the team with tons of cap space to pursue game-changing guys like Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and Rajon Rondo. And they would be ridding themselves of a player that has largely become more of a headache than a help as of late.

Smith’s potential is still great. In fact, he’s probably one of the most exciting Knicks players since Starks. But at this point, if they can’t get him to mature, focus on the game and get back to something close to what he was last season, it might be time for New York to pull the plug on the J.R. Smith experiment.