NBA fines J.R. Smith $25,000 for hostile tweet to Brandon Jennings

The NBA has fined New York Knicks guard $25,000 for "directing hostile and inappropriate language" to Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The league had disclosed it was looking into the incident which occurred on Twitter.

Jennings questioned how J.R.'s brother, Chris Smith, had a spot on the Knicks roster while Pooh Jeter and Bobby Brown (fellow Los Angeles natives with Jennings) were playing overseas. Smith posted a Tweet calling out Jennings indirectly, which he deleted shortly after. Here's a screenshot of Smith's response to Jennings:

Smith did not directly mention Jennings, but it's fairly obvious what he was referencing. The NBA continues cracking down on social media outbursts, recently fining Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes $25,000 for using "offensive language" in a tweet after an incident with Oklahoma City Thunder big man Serge Ibaka.

This isn't the first time Smith has been fined for "inappropriate" usage of social media. The NBA fined him $25,000 last season for tweeting a picture of a partially nude woman.

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