With training camp around the corner, J.R. Smith's still a free agent
It’s been a remarkable summer for J.R. Smith. The mercurial gunner played a key role in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ run to their first-ever NBA championship, cemented his people’s champion bona fides with both his emotional post-victory press conference and his unbridled commitment to celebrating and shirtlessness, got married, opened up his own shoe store, and got a new dog. All sorts of achievements unlocked, there; a very cool way to spend June, July and August.
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Now, though, we’ve rounded the corner into late September, and with NBA training camps opening next week and the 2016-17 regular season just over a month away, Smith — who opted out of the final year of his two-year contract back in June — stands as the highest-profile unrestricted free agent who remains unsigned. Just about everybody expects the shooting guard to return to the Cavs, as he did last summer following an opt-out and lengthy stay on the market … but it’s getting late, and amid reports that the two sides are at an impasse, Smith won’t join the team for a minicamp session this week in California, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com:
Cavs players and coaches are gathering for workouts for several days this week in Santa Barbara ahead of the start of training camp next week. The session is meant to create bonding ahead of the season. Last year the team gathered in Miami for a camp that helped launch their eventual championship season.
Smith’s agent, Rich Paul, and the Cavs have been in a standoff since July after Smith opted out of his contract. No recent progress has been made in the talks, sources said. Smith, who played a significant role at both ends is seeking a multiyear deal.
Smith is focused on returning to the Cavs and the team wants him back, but Smith will likely not hesitate to miss part of training camp to wait to see if his leverage changes. Other teams currently have cap space, and events in the preseason can change the situation.
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It makes sense that Paul — who, lest we forget, also represents LeBron James and Tristan Thompson — would elect to keep Smith on ice and use those teams with cap space remaining as leverage to try to coax the Cavs into ponying up a big new deal for J.R., who has reportedly had an offer in the $10 million per year range on the table for a while, but who was rumored earlier this summer to be seeking $15 million per year.
At first blush, that sounds like a wild number for Smith … but then you consider how much cash got splashed this summer, that Smith’s never made more than $6.8 million in a season before, that J.R. might be looking to get whole after taking a haircut last season, and that this might be the last chance the 31-year-old gets at securing one more big deal. (Indeed, Joe Vardon of cleveland.com suggests that “the two sides may not be arguing over money so much as the length of the deal — the Cavs would likely prefer a shorter contract.”) Besides, when it comes to shooting your shot, nobody’s more comfortable playing low-likelihood odds than Earl.
Remember, Paul took a similar tack last year with power forward Thompson, holding him out through the entire preseason before coming to terms on a massive five-year, $82 million deal just before the start of the season. The deal seemed kind of bonkers for a non-elite rim protector who can’t shoot and had averaged just 10.1 points and 8.4 rebounds through four pro seasons, until Thompson earned every penny of his pact with his dominating interior play against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Finals, offering credence to the notion that even if Thompson might not have been worth the money to every team, he was to Cleveland.
The same principle seems to be at work here: play it cool long enough to make general manager David Griffin fret about the possibility of entering the season without his starting shooting guard and best non-LeBron two-way wing player, use the specter of the several teams with significant cap space remaining to amp up the anxiety, and eventually land a multi-year deal that gets J.R. fed and keeps the Cavs fully stocked for a repeat run.
Smith told Adam Caparell of Complex during a recent interview that he hopes to have a new deal with the Cavs soon, but left the door open a crack to the possibility of heading elsewhere:
“Well, obviously we’re not where we want to be at from a personal standpoint,” says Smith. “But it’s more than just numbers. I don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage of the Cavs for everything they’ve done for me, and I don’t want them to feel like I’m taking advantage of them. It’s more of a mutual respect thing.” […]
He was unceremoniously shipped out of New York in January 2015, but after two NBA Finals appearances in Cleveland, he’s seemingly found a home. His family is based out there now; his wife is going to school, as are his daughters. But is Cleveland really the best spot for him?
“Yes and no. It depends on how you look at it,” says Smith. “Financially, you can always go somewhere else. Team morale-wise, there are a few teams that I could see working. There are guys I would like to play with, guys I have played with. Being able to live in that city or a particular place, school systems, kids, family life—[with] free agency, everything comes into play. Before, I could just sit there and be like, ‘I don’t care where I go.’ But now I have the kids, and it’s like, ‘Ok, what’s the best fit?’”
It sure seems like it’d be the Cavaliers, with whom Smith has been a hand-in-glove fit as a designated long-distance bomber ever since coming to Cleveland midway through the 2014-15 season, and who worked his tail off last season (and especially last postseason) to become a defensive presence on the perimeter for a team that needed stoppers more than creators. Already over the cap and luxury-tax lines, and with only a few trade exceptions with which to maneuver, the Cavs would find it incredibly hard to locate a suitable replacement for Smith for the price he’d cost to keep, and no less a Cleveland decision-maker than LeBron recently wrote of Smith in an Instagram post, “i can’t wait to get back to work on that court with u as my wing backcourt mate!!”
Impasse or no, the most likely outcome remains that Smith returns to Cleveland. Especially because, while there are “a few teams” to which Smith could envision himself going, it remains to be seen whether Griffin really sweats the possibility of J.R. walking to one of any that have the cap space to give him the kind of salary he’s reportedly seeking.
According to Basketball Insiders’ team salary information, only six teams currently have $10 million or more in available cap space for the season ahead. The Philadelphia 76ers (an estimated $22.8 million in cap space) could benefit from Smith’s long-range shooting to help space the floor for young bigs like Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric and Joel Embiid … but new GM Bryan Colangelo has already earmarked more than $26 million for the year ahead to veteran guards Jerryd Bayless, Gerald Henderson and Sergio Rodriguez to man the backcourt. The Brooklyn Nets ($17.2 million) could offer big minutes alongside top free-agent signing and Smith’s former New York Knicks teammate Jeremy Lin, but they’ve already got 15 guaranteed contracts and would probably rather get longer looks at pleasant post-All-Star-break surprise Sean Kilpatrick and rookies Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead than import a high-priced vet in what’s expected to be another rebuilding year.
Smith could angle for a return to the Denver Nuggets ($15.5 million) franchise with which he spent five seasons, but with rising two-way player Gary Harris, explosive sixth man Will Barton and 2016 lottery pick Jamal Murray all likely in line for significant minutes at the two on Michael Malone’s young team, the fit doesn’t seem to make much sense. Ditto for the Phoenix Suns ($13.2 million), who already have Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Devin Booker and Archie Goodwin on hand in the backcourt, and just brought back veteran Leandro Barbosa this summer, to boot.
You could kind of see an argument for the Utah Jazz ($11.8 million) taking a look at a 6-foot-6 bomber and improved defender who could slot into their lengthy and versatile lineups. But after trading for George Hill and signing Joe Johnson to join a backcourt mix headlined by Rodney Hood and Alec Burks that also features Shelvin Mack and the returning Dante Exum, there doesn’t look to be a ton of room for J.R. (And, now that we mention it, J.R. might not be too keen on moving to Salt Lake City, either.)
The only other team with eight figures of cap space at the moment, the Minnesota Timberwolves ($11.4 million), could use more shooting, and new head coach Tom Thibodeau has had success in the past with remorseless gunners offering spice in the backcourt. But the Wolves seem content to continue their slow-and-steady rebuild bit by bit and give electric young guard Zach LaVine the opportunity to earn the starting two-guard spot, spelled by steady vet Brandon Rush, rather than shaking things up with a pricey late-summer acquisition.
As Windhorst notes, things could change during training camp. Another team could suffer a serious injury in the backcourt that puts them in the market for another guard, and if they can create the cap space to make Smith a significant offer, the Cavs’ hand could be forced. For now, though, the market doesn’t seem to demand a high-dollar offer, leaving Smith on the outside looking in for the time being, the capper of an all-time great summer sitting just one signature away.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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