ERIE, Pa. — On the first shot of his professional basketball career, Chris Smith, the younger brother of J. R. Smith, took a handoff, squared up, dribbled left with a defender on his hip, elevated and fired. The ball clanged off the side of the rim. Beyond the hoop, two inflatable playhouses shook with children bouncing inside.

Smith jogged back downcourt, fouled a 3-point shooter and was benched. He did not play the rest of the quarter. Although he finished the game strong, he was not the best player on the court.

But he was the only one with a guaranteed N.B.A. contract.

That distinction is sure to follow him, now that the Knicks have sent him here to play for the Erie BayHawks, their Development League team, now that he is surrounded by players who want what he has, who are desperate for a chance. It will follow him until he proves himself capable of playing in the N.B.A.

Many Knicks fans are not so sure. Their thinking is that Smith was a role player at Louisville, played poorly in the N.B.A. summer league and is on the Knicks’ 15-man roster only because of his older brother. With Tyson Chandler out, some fans would rather have an extra big man, like Jeremy Tyler, who is with the BayHawks and recovering from an injury, than a 6-foot-2 combo guard.