J.R. Smith is in a predicament now. It wasn’t looking like he’d have a problem but the moratorium has passed, all the dust has settled, and J.R. Smith is still a free agent.
Now we all know who Smith is. We know that he can shoot, we all know he get hot and drop 15 in a heartbeat. But we also know that he can be erratic off the court (just as long there’s no clubs in the area) and when he gets cold, he hinders the team like nobody else can. His half a season in Cleveland was one of his best, sometimes he was total garbage when in New York but when he got the Playoffs he was great.
For some reason, Smith did not take his player option and stay in Cleveland, which has left him in limbo and seemingly the only way out is to go back to Cleveland. Problem is, if he wants to, it’ll be for less than his player option.
When Smith turned down the option for next season, the Cavs weren’t thrilled. At that point, they seriously began looking for another option at shooting guard.
Several weeks have passed. Smith apparently doesn’t have a contract offer he likes. The Cavs are still looking for a shooting guard.
The Cavs would like Smith back, but on a modest one-year contract.
The wise move for Smith would have been to pick up his option. Then go have a good season with LeBron James & Company. Then become a free agent in the “Money Summer” of 2016 when the salary cap will rise at least 30 percent.
It’s possible Smith may sign with the Cavs for even less than the $6.4 million option. After all, he walked away from the money. The Cavs can go over the salary cap to sign him because he is their free agent.
It’s clear that Smith screwed the pooch on this one, he took the risk and it did not pay off. He’s lucky they don’t have a shooting guard yet otherwise he’d have to go to China or something.
