JR Smith signs 2 year deal with Cavs worth roughly $5 million per year

[RedBlackAttack]

Great job by the Cavs holding out and making him take a pay cut. It sounds like the second year is a player option btw. Smith would have gotten $6.5 million if he hadn't opted out.

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/cleveland-cavaliers/cleveland-cavaliers-1.275356/j-r-smith-returning-to-cavaliers-1.617853

[AnaheimLakers24]

What an idiot :lol
Gilrbert running the show

[Cocaine80s]

Is this guy a dumbass or does Gilbert have his nudes


Either way :applause: :applause: :applause:

[Meticode]

No one wanted to take chance on him. There's a reason when the Cavaliers traded for Iman Shumpert the Knicks were like "We'll give you Iman, but you have to take Smith off our hands." :lol

[LAZERUSS]

What a waste.

They could have gone down to the local YMCA and found someone as good for the league minimum.

Maybe they should have asked the Big-O what he would take.

[Meticode]

Now just TT.

Mozgov/Varejao/Kaun
Love/Thompson
LeBron/Jefferson/Jones
Shumpert/Smith
Irving/Williams/Dellevadova

[inclinerator]

mean while jeremy lin is making 2m a year

[Cocaine80s]

Now just TT.

Mozgov/Varejao/Kaun
Love/Thompson
LeBron/Jefferson/Jones
Shumpert/Smith
Irving/Williams/Dellevadova
God ****ing damn

Imagine if everyones healthy for the playoffs :biggums:

[RedBlackAttack]

mean while jeremy lin is making 2m a year
...which sounds about right.

JR Smith was really good last year on a really good team until the injury bug forced him out of his comfort zone. Lin is a roster filler.

[RedBlackAttack]

God ****ing damn

Imagine if everyones healthy for the playoffs :biggums:
And we have a large TPE to use at some point during the season. Good stuff by Griffin and Gilbert.

[outbreak]

...which sounds about right.

JR Smith was really good last year on a really good team until the injury bug forced him out of his comfort zone. Lin is a roster filler.

I thought that was his point, that JR should be making more than Lin.

[RedBlackAttack]

I thought that was his point, that JR should be making more than Lin.
Oh... in that case, good point. I guess.

[CarlosBoozer]

JR's a pretty good spot up shooter, but he takes so many bad shots it's almost impossible for him to be consistent :facepalm

[RedBlackAttack]

JR's a pretty good spot up shooter, but he takes so many bad shots it's almost impossible for him to be consistent :facepalm
Thing is, he doesn't have to be consistent as a 4th or 5th option. He only gets you in trouble if he is your 2nd or 3rd best offensive player.

The Cavs now have a ridiculous amount of offensive firepower... LeBron, Kyrie and Love are three of the best offensive players in the league. Then, you have a large second tier of offensive role players in Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams, JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao in some order.

We don't need him to go off every night. He just needs to occasionally blow up, which he is good at doing.

[Spaulding]

Looks like Cavs won't get crawford

[RedBlackAttack]

Looks like Cavs won't get crawford
Smith is a far better shooter and a better defensive player than Crawford. Those are the two things the Cavs need most out of that backup SG role. Hell, he may still even be the starter, as he was in the regular season last year, because he fits so well alongside LeBron, Kyrie and Love.

Crawford needs the ball in his hands, which is the last thing this Cavs team needs.

It also doesn't hurt that JR is still only 29 and Crawford is 35.

[SwishSquared]

Smith is a far better shooter and a better defensive player than Crawford. Those are the two things the Cavs need most out of that backup SG role. Hell, he may still even be the starter, as he was in the regular season last year, because he fits so well alongside LeBron, Kyrie and Love.

Crawford needs the ball in his hands, which is the last thing this Cavs team needs.

It also doesn't hurt that JR is still only 29 and Crawford is 35.Good post, per usual, RBA.

I think the Crawford trade rumors may have been leaked by Doc. I think he's been trying to move him and naturally thought that Haywood contract would have been his ticket. Crawford needs a really specific type of team surrounding him for his game to work. Maybe an offense that could use a gunner, like Memphis.

[Bosnian Sajo]

Honestly, he got off lucky. They could of easily handed him a 1yr/2m contract and he would of had to accept, he ain't going nowhere. No one wants em and he can actually be apart of something big in Cleveland. I shuddered as I typed that last bit.

[RedBlackAttack]

Honestly, he got off lucky. They could of easily handed him a 1yr/2m contract and he would of had to accept, he ain't going nowhere. No one wants em and he can actually be apart of something big in Cleveland. I shuddered as I typed that last bit.
I agree. I think the $5 million is an olive branch to Smith, because like I said... even though it seems like he has been in the league forever, he is still on the right side of 30 and he very well could have several very good years ahead of him. The Cavs didn't want to embarrass him with a tiny deal, which may have led to his leaving next year just on principle.

Smith is at his best when he is on a short contract. When he gets comfortable, things can go terribly wrong.

With all of that being said, he was an important part -- a starter -- on a team that went 34-9 to end the regular season.

[Bosnian Sajo]

No doubt, I always thought of JR as a baller, but his rep is uuugly. You're right, when he gets comfortable he ends up doing worse. Happened in Denver, happened in New York.

[KembaWalker]

JR Smith the type of player to go broke 5 years after retiring, 5mil or 6.5mil, it doesn't matter

[D-Wait]

Good signing. Despite his breakdown in the finals, he was a major contributor during the season.
Dat backcourt of Williams and Smith sure won't have problems to get buckets...

[rmt]

I think that's very cheap for JR with the crazy money that's been handed out this summer. Hey, Cory Joseph got $30 million/4 yrs and JR is much better than he is.

[RRR3]

JR Smith the type of player to go broke 5 years after retiring, 5mil or 6.5mil, it doesn't matter
Very true. Hopefully JR wises up once he is retired.

[D-Wait]

I think that's very cheap for JR with the crazy money that's been handed out this summer. Hey, Cory Joseph got $30 million/4 yrs and JR is much better than he is.

It's crazy when you consider the fact that Shump got a 4 year/40 mill. deal :lol

Shump is key to our defense, has some upside but I didn't expect such a huge gap between his and JR's salary

[RedBlackAttack]

It's crazy when you consider the fact that Shump got a 4 year/40 mill. deal :lol

Shump is key to our defense, has some upside but I didn't expect such a huge gap between his and JR's salary
Shump is 24 years old and is a really good defensive wing in a league where those guys who are also good enough to knock down the occasional three or make the occasional play are extremely important.

Shump's age, skillset and ceiling make him easily worth $10 million in today's NBA, imo. JR is in a totally different phase of his career. He is six years older and while he is a better shooter and scorer, he has never been the kind of perimeter defender Shump is right now.

The gap might not be huge now, but it will likely grow over the next few years.

[Droid101]

God ****ing damn

Imagine if everyones healthy for the playoffs :biggums:
Agreed. Even with 3-5 injuries to key players, if this team doesn't win the ring, it's the biggest chokejob in the history of the NBA bar none.

[bdreason]

Stacked roster. Best player in the World. Easiest schedule in the league.



No excuses.

[FatComputerNerd]

Major steal.

He was huge for us all season, other than in the finals when we were short-handed...

We sure are getting more stacked...Shump, J.R, R.J., Mo-Gotti coming back...so much talent even w/o our main guys, lol.

Kyrie/Lebron/Mo/Delly
JR/Shump/JJ, R.J, and some Delly and Mo too I'm sure, along w/ Smokin' Joe
Lebron/Shump/JJ, R.J, Harris
Love/TT/Lebron/AV/JJ
T-Mo/TT/AV

Ridiculous really how many different lineups we can put out there.

[Cocaine80s]

Agreed. Even with 3-5 injuries to key players, if this team doesn't win the ring, it's the biggest chokejob in the history of the NBA bar none.
:biggums:

If even one player gets injured the Cavs get a pass for this year

But man, if everyones healthy they are gonna be unstoppable

[D-Wait]

Shump's age, skillset and ceiling make him easily worth $10 million in today's NBA, imo.

I thought it was a slight overpay, expected something like 8 mill./per year...

But considering the cap increasing, this contract doesn't look bad at all...

As you noted, Shump is so important for us, especially for Lebron not having to guard the best opposing wing

[MJ(Mean John)]

Cavs Should have Smartened up and took the Nick Young + Ryan Kelly Deal for $5Mil.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Assuming Thompson re-signs, Cavs have to be the most stacked team on paper.

Spurs might be better 1-5. I want to see Parker get back in shape and make sure Duncan hasn't finally hit the wall because it HAS to happen eventually, right? But I don't know why some keep overlooking them losing their depth because that's what made the last few Spurs teams the Spurs. Their second unit would come in and wreck you. I think with Manu's decline they're in a little trouble. Maybe Pop works his magic, plugs in random grocery store workers, and turns them into 10 million dollar players. Got to see it to believe it.

Warriors are obviously up there, too. Still don't think their roster is that impressive. The parts just fit exceptionally well, while remaining incredibly versatile. Feel like if you took a lot of these players off the team they would look rather pedestrian.

Maybe a healthy OKC. Except I remain on the side of Waiters being a worthless piece of shit like he has been since his rookie year. Can't say I'm a fan of Kanter either. Honestly looks like a 2K team randomly plugging in whatever players you can cheese with. Tho any time you can start with 2 top 5 players, it's pretty hard to **** that up.

I got Houston and LAC right below. Wake me up if Pierce isn't old, Stephenson plays like he did for the Pacers, and when Rivers isn't in the rotation anymore.


You look at the Cavs and they go legit two deep of starters at every position, other than SF. The SF so happens to be an some sort of iron man and probably still the best player in the world, so whatever. Nice balance of role players, stars, and veterans. Plus they get to take off every other night because East basketball.

[Lebron23]

Look at the Cavaliers bench. If Thompson resigns with the Cavs. This is the most deepest, and talented LeBron team on paper.

[ProfessorMurder]

How does no other team give him 5.5 just to keep him off of the Cavs

Dumb shits. Philly could do it, not win any more games, and weaken the Cavs.

[Spurs m8]

God ****ing damn

Imagine if everyones healthy for the playoffs :biggums:

I know right?

Two Seven

[Lebron23]

I know right?

Two Seven


Timothy Duncan would be 40 yrs.old next year. I am sure he's going to decline cause you cannot beat father time.

[Trollsmasher]

great signing

JR is a perfect 4th option as long as the big 3 stays healthy and he doesn't have to do anything else but spot up

[Clifton]

I'm glad the Cavs organization didn't embarrass him by making him take a *major* paycut. He had no other offers. They could have forced him to play for 2 mil a year.

I'm glad he's on board. I think he's a more important part of the Cavs' attack than many do. He had a bad finals series, but he's going to be motivated to make up for it.

[West-Side]

Just ridiculous how stacked LeBron's teams have been for the last 6 years.

Yet still;

http://a.espncdn.com/media/motion/2011/0221/dm_110220_nba_dunk_of_the_night2.jpg

[Wally450]

16-0 in the Playoffs. Championship.

...... If everyone's healthy.

[Derka]

JR Smith the type of player to go broke 5 years after retiring, 5mil or 6.5mil, it doesn't matter
Which is crazy to me. He's not some kid from the projects who is suddenly flush with cash to spend; he's from an affluent New Jersey suburb.

I guess Smith was wanting some of that Shumpert money, but no way. $5 million for a guy whose sole job will be to spot up shoot as your 4-5 scorer? Not bad.

[wang4three]

Still overpaid. Would've taken Alan Anderson's 1 yr, $4million over this guy.

[FatComputerNerd]

great signing

JR is a perfect 4th option as long as the big 3 stays healthy and he doesn't have to do anything else but spot up

I wouldn't mind the occasional shoelace untying :lol

[FatComputerNerd]

Look at the Cavaliers bench. If Thompson resigns with the Cavs. This is the most deepest, and talented LeBron team on paper.

With Thompson re-signed, and a healthy AV, it's one of the deepest, most talented teams in the history of the league!

[HurricaneKid]

Just ridiculous how stacked LeBron's teams have been for the last 6 years.


They signed a backup that shot 31% in the Finals. Stacked.

Last year his team was outscored by 6.0 points per 100 poss when he was off the floor. The Lakers, without Kobe, were outscored by 5.0 pts/100.

Just STOP.

[I<3NBA]

i still think the Spurs are better. i think it'll be a Spurs-Cavs rematch in the finals.

hopefully, the Cavs win this time. but, you never know. that Spurs line up is stacked.

[Kingwillball]

great signing

JR is a perfect 4th option as long as the big 3 stays healthy and he doesn't have to do anything else but spot up

I think mo will be 4th option some nights and others JR but nice to have 2 bench players who have ability to light it up from the outside on any given night..

Assuming TT returns the mix of talent gives the cavs so many different options and lineups to play with..

[Levity]

mean while jeremy lin is making 2m a year

lulz. Jeremy lin needs the ball in his hands to be effective. and even then, hes not effective.

[wang4three]

lulz. Jeremy lin needs the ball in his hands to be effective. and even then, hes not effective.

And JR isn't the same way?

[RidonKs]

Still overpaid. Would've taken Alan Anderson's 1 yr, $4million over this guy.
:facepalm

anderson makes the same mistakes, is less talented, less athletic, worse defender, and never goes on hot streaks like jr does

i used to be the biggest jr hater in the biz but he's convinced me with this new setting. i have no doubt if he were sent to utah or new orleans he'd become an idiot again, but strong leadership and championship aspirations have a strange effect on men...

[imdaman99]

JR is fine...as long as he is the 4th-5th option. Give him any responsibilities and he will get exposed against good teams. I mean, he did do well against the Bulls, but we saw his true colors in the Finals.

I still think he would have taken less to go to a big city so he could party though :lol

[Levity]

And JR isn't the same way?

umm, no. he can play off the ball as a shooter. lin cant. Smith is the type of player you sign when you have guys like lebron and irving. Lin would be a retarded pick up for that team. His best quality is a deep pick and roll, and even then, he's pretty inefficient at it and very turnover prone.

[ralph_i_el]

And JR isn't the same way?
JR can shoot spot up 3's

[Lebron23]

He and Mo Williams would be solid scorers off the bench. Williams can still score. He scored 52 last year, and a good passer.

[brooklynsfinest]

And JR isn't the same way?
No, he can function as a spot up shooter, plus he plays D. I don't think he's worth $5M a year but he's more valuable than a PG who needs to dominate the ball and can't play any D for Cleveland.

Nets should have signed him for cheap since he wants to come back to a big city.

[Uncle Drew]

98-0.

[RedBlackAttack]

And JR isn't the same way?
JR was good -- really good -- when the offense was running through both LeBron and Kyrie and his primary responsibility was to either find the open spots on the floor and shoot or cut to the basket off the ball. It was actually when -- after Kyrie and Love were hurt -- he was asked to do more stuff off the dribble in the last two rounds of the playoffs that he went off the rails.

So, he is actually the exact opposite of a player like Lin. Also, Smith can be a good defender when he is locked in and focused.

I still think he might go back to his starting spot, just because he is so lethal as a spot-up shooter and playing on the same floor as LeBron, Kyrie and Love will get him lots of open looks. Especially now that we have scoring punch off the bench in Mo Williams, it might make more sense to pair Mo with Shump and TT as the first guys off the bench and allow JR to do his thing with the starters.

[Lebron23]

Props to JR smith for Resigning with the Cavaliers. He's really a good friend with LeBron.

Now it's time for Thompson to resign with the Cavs. They are going to win 60 games next season.

[G0ATbe]

This might be the most stacked team ever and i'm still not even sure they'll win the title next year because they have LeBald running the offense and playing no D. Switch him with a Kobe or Durant and it's a guaranteed chip.

[Lebron23]

This might be the most stacked team ever and i'm still not even sure they'll win the title next year because they have LeBald running the offense and playing no D. Switch him with a Kobe or Durant and it's a guaranteed chip.


STFU

[G0ATbe]

Honestly though, could you imagine how easy of a title run it'd be with a 30 year old Bryant instead of LeBald? Gets to play with an upgraded version of Gasoft w/ a 3point shot, better rebounding. Kyrie instead of Fisher:lol . JR smith/Shumpert/etc etc and that stacked ass bench. Holy fcking sht I don't think they'd lose more than 7 or 8 games in the season.

And then to top it all off...come playoff time, the only notable team standing in his way of the finals is lead by Jeff Teague?:roll:

[wang4three]

JR was good -- really good -- when the offense was running through both LeBron and Kyrie and his primary responsibility was to either find the open spots on the floor and shoot or cut to the basket off the ball. It was actually when -- after Kyrie and Love were hurt -- he was asked to do more stuff off the dribble in the last two rounds of the playoffs that he went off the rails.

So, he is actually the exact opposite of a player like Lin. Also, Smith can be a good defender when he is locked in and focused.

I still think he might go back to his starting spot, just because he is so lethal as a spot-up shooter and playing on the same floor as LeBron, Kyrie and Love will get him lots of open looks. Especially now that we have scoring punch off the bench in Mo Williams, it might make more sense to pair Mo with Shump and TT as the first guys off the bench and allow JR to do his thing with the starters.

I've had ample time to follow JR Smith throughout his career and most of it has left me undoubtedly sure that he's a waste of talent. For every game winning play he makes, there's at least 4-5 mistakes he made earlier in the game that could've prevented the team from needing his potential late game heroics later on.

The guy is selfish, and I don't like the idea of a guy being good at defense only when he's "focused". Especially for a guy who's been characterized as unfocused for the majority of his career.

Also I don't support the claim that he's a spot up shooter. He's a volume shooter who needs to shoot himself into rhythm. He's no spot up shooter in the traditional sense. He needs to shoot himself in games. And if he's not hot, he's shooting the team into losses. He cannot be inserted and asked to be productive for the minutes he's been given like so many other spot up specialists in this league (e.g. Kyle Korver, Danny Green, JJ Redick, or even Richard Jefferson at this point of his career) He needs at least 25 minutes and time with the ball in his hand to attempt slashing and his very streaky step back jumper. If you look at his stats where he's getting less than 20 minutes a game, everything goes to shit and all his percentages drop by 10%. Do you really want to commit to 20+ minutes to this guy every night? I wouldn't.
Especially for a guy who's one mental breakdown away from getting himself thrown off a team.

I get he's the opposite of Lin, but only because I can bench Jeremy when he's playing poorly and not worry about him. If I bench JR, he can go into a emotional outrage and cause team disruption.

Like I said earlier, I would've taken an older Alan Anderson at $4M for one year over this guy.

[RidonKs]

I've had ample time to follow JR Smith throughout his career and most of it has left me undoubtedly sure that he's a waste of talent. For every game winning play he makes, there's at least 4-5 mistakes he made earlier in the game that could've prevented the team from needing his potential late game heroics later on.

The guy is selfish, and I don't like the idea of a guy being good at defense only when he's "focused". Especially for a guy who's been characterized as unfocused for the majority of his career.

Also I don't support the claim that he's a spot up shooter. He's a volume shooter who needs to shoot himself into rhythm. He's no spot up shooter in the traditional sense. He needs to shoot himself in games. And if he's not hot, he's shooting the team into losses. He cannot be inserted and asked to be productive for the minutes he's been given like so many other spot up specialists in this league (e.g. Kyle Korver, Danny Green, JJ Redick, or even Richard Jefferson at this point of his career) He needs at least 25 minutes and time with the ball in his hand to attempt slashing and his very streaky step back jumper. If you look at his stats where he's getting less than 20 minutes a game, everything goes to shit and all his percentages drop by 10%. Do you really want to commit to 20+ minutes to this guy every night? I wouldn't.
Especially for a guy who's one mental breakdown away from getting himself thrown off a team.

I get he's the opposite of Lin, but only because I can bench Jeremy when he's playing poorly and not worry about him. If I bench JR, he can go into a emotional outrage and cause team disruption.

Like I said earlier, I would've taken an older Alan Anderson at $4M for one year over this guy.
thats a pretty ****ing persuasive case right there

[Cocaine80s]

I've had ample time to follow JR Smith throughout his career and most of it has left me undoubtedly sure that he's a waste of talent. For every game winning play he makes, there's at least 4-5 mistakes he made earlier in the game that could've prevented the team from needing his potential late game heroics later on.

The guy is selfish, and I don't like the idea of a guy being good at defense only when he's "focused". Especially for a guy who's been characterized as unfocused for the majority of his career.

Also I don't support the claim that he's a spot up shooter. He's a volume shooter who needs to shoot himself into rhythm. He's no spot up shooter in the traditional sense. He needs to shoot himself in games. And if he's not hot, he's shooting the team into losses. He cannot be inserted and asked to be productive for the minutes he's been given like so many other spot up specialists in this league (e.g. Kyle Korver, Danny Green, JJ Redick, or even Richard Jefferson at this point of his career) He needs at least 25 minutes and time with the ball in his hand to attempt slashing and his very streaky step back jumper. If you look at his stats where he's getting less than 20 minutes a game, everything goes to shit and all his percentages drop by 10%. Do you really want to commit to 20+ minutes to this guy every night? I wouldn't.
Especially for a guy who's one mental breakdown away from getting himself thrown off a team.

I get he's the opposite of Lin, but only because I can bench Jeremy when he's playing poorly and not worry about him. If I bench JR, he can go into a emotional outrage and cause team disruption.

Like I said earlier, I would've taken an older Alan Anderson at $4M for one year over this guy.
Lin is also very mentally weak

[niko]

I've had ample time to follow JR Smith throughout his career and most of it has left me undoubtedly sure that he's a waste of talent. For every game winning play he makes, there's at least 4-5 mistakes he made earlier in the game that could've prevented the team from needing his potential late game heroics later on.

The guy is selfish, and I don't like the idea of a guy being good at defense only when he's "focused". Especially for a guy who's been characterized as unfocused for the majority of his career.

Also I don't support the claim that he's a spot up shooter. He's a volume shooter who needs to shoot himself into rhythm. He's no spot up shooter in the traditional sense. He needs to shoot himself in games. And if he's not hot, he's shooting the team into losses. He cannot be inserted and asked to be productive for the minutes he's been given like so many other spot up specialists in this league (e.g. Kyle Korver, Danny Green, JJ Redick, or even Richard Jefferson at this point of his career) He needs at least 25 minutes and time with the ball in his hand to attempt slashing and his very streaky step back jumper. If you look at his stats where he's getting less than 20 minutes a game, everything goes to shit and all his percentages drop by 10%. Do you really want to commit to 20+ minutes to this guy every night? I wouldn't.
Especially for a guy who's one mental breakdown away from getting himself thrown off a team.

I get he's the opposite of Lin, but only because I can bench Jeremy when he's playing poorly and not worry about him. If I bench JR, he can go into a emotional outrage and cause team disruption.

Like I said earlier, I would've taken an older Alan Anderson at $4M for one year over this guy.
They couldn't sign anyone for over $1m, they are over cap. JR is their own guy. And you can't argue defense, that JR only plays when motivated when Lin doesn't play it ever, motivated or not.

[RoseCity07]

My reaction:

http://i.imgur.com/A6yNhUQ.gif

[RedBlackAttack]

I've had ample time to follow JR Smith throughout his career and most of it has left me undoubtedly sure that he's a waste of talent. For every game winning play he makes, there's at least 4-5 mistakes he made earlier in the game that could've prevented the team from needing his potential late game heroics later on.

The guy is selfish, and I don't like the idea of a guy being good at defense only when he's "focused". Especially for a guy who's been characterized as unfocused for the majority of his career.

Also I don't support the claim that he's a spot up shooter. He's a volume shooter who needs to shoot himself into rhythm. He's no spot up shooter in the traditional sense. He needs to shoot himself in games. And if he's not hot, he's shooting the team into losses. He cannot be inserted and asked to be productive for the minutes he's been given like so many other spot up specialists in this league (e.g. Kyle Korver, Danny Green, JJ Redick, or even Richard Jefferson at this point of his career) He needs at least 25 minutes and time with the ball in his hand to attempt slashing and his very streaky step back jumper. If you look at his stats where he's getting less than 20 minutes a game, everything goes to shit and all his percentages drop by 10%. Do you really want to commit to 20+ minutes to this guy every night? I wouldn't.
Especially for a guy who's one mental breakdown away from getting himself thrown off a team.

I get he's the opposite of Lin, but only because I can bench Jeremy when he's playing poorly and not worry about him. If I bench JR, he can go into a emotional outrage and cause team disruption.

Like I said earlier, I would've taken an older Alan Anderson at $4M for one year over this guy.
I'm only going to judge JR by what I saw from him in Cleveland, because this situation is completely different than anything he's been in during the course of his NBA career.

And, when you look at him through the lens of a healthy Cavs team, he was inarguably valuable. It's not like you could throw anyone into that role alongside Kyrie, LeBron and Love and they're going to just produce. Dion Waiters is a talented player who absolutely didn't fit and it was night and day between him and JR Smith.

It's not because Dion didn't want to be here or anything off the court... it was because his game -- which is about pounding the ball and looking for openings in the defense to score or playmake -- was not a fit for this team.

You can say that Smith isn't a spot-up shooter... the numbers suggest otherwise. Smith's made three-pointers were assisted 82.4% of the time in Cleveland. That is the highest assisted three-point percentage he's had in three years and, not surprisingly, he had his highest three-point percentage in three years -- 39-percent.

If you look at the numbers throughout his career, the higher the assist% on his threes, the better he shoots it. That's a spot-up shooter.

Is he still inconsistent? Sure. He might go 0-for-5 one night and 7-for-7 the next. Thing is, as long as he's the 4th or 5th option -- as he is in Cleveland for the first time in his career -- you can live with those inconsistencies.

What he did in New York or Denver as a No. 2 or No. 3 option is almost completely irrelevant... because for all the talent he has, there are at least three guys on this team -- when it is healthy -- that are unquestionably more talented... and he knows it.

I have faith that he'll only do what is asked of him here, because that's the JR I've seen so far and he is surrounded by guys that demand a certain level of professionalism.

Btw, just like with the Tristan Thompson situation, pointing out guys that the Cavs "could have" instead of Smith is an exercise in futility. They're way over the cap. They can really only re-sign the players for whom they own the Bird rights. I don't agree about Anderson being better, but it doesn't matter, because the Cavs couldn't have acquired Alan anyways.

Smith coming back at $5m per ($1.4m less than his opt-in) is a win. I really don't understand an argument to the contrary.

[Lebron23]

Cavaliers 2015-16 Depth Charts if Thompson resigns with the team.

C- Timothy Mozgov, Anderson Varejao
F- Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson
F - LeBron James, Richard Jefferson
G- Imam Shumpert, JR Smith, James Jones
G- Kyrie Irving, Mo Williams, Matthew Dellavedova

[Lebron23]

http://img.spokeo.com/public/900-600/sasha_kaun_2012_08_02.jpg

Cavaliers are also planning to sign this Euroleague veteran.

[AintNoSunshine]

This might be the most stacked team ever and i'm still not even sure they'll win the title next year because they have LeBald running the offense and playing no D. Switch him with a Kobe or Durant and it's a guaranteed chip.
You would thought Shaq-Malone-Payton-Kobe and Howard-Pau-Nash-Kobe are guaranteed chip too:oldlol: :oldlol:

[smoovegittar]

...which sounds about right.

JR Smith was really good last year on a really good team until the injury bug forced him out of his comfort zone. Lin is a roster filler.
JR Smith is usually pretty good - until crunch time. Book that.

[smoovegittar]

I've had ample time to follow JR Smith throughout his career and most of it has left me undoubtedly sure that he's a waste of talent. For every game winning play he makes, there's at least 4-5 mistakes he made earlier in the game that could've prevented the team from needing his potential late game heroics later on.

The guy is selfish, and I don't like the idea of a guy being good at defense only when he's "focused". Especially for a guy who's been characterized as unfocused for the majority of his career.

Also I don't support the claim that he's a spot up shooter. He's a volume shooter who needs to shoot himself into rhythm. He's no spot up shooter in the traditional sense. He needs to shoot himself in games. And if he's not hot, he's shooting the team into losses. He cannot be inserted and asked to be productive for the minutes he's been given like so many other spot up specialists in this league (e.g. Kyle Korver, Danny Green, JJ Redick, or even Richard Jefferson at this point of his career) He needs at least 25 minutes and time with the ball in his hand to attempt slashing and his very streaky step back jumper. If you look at his stats where he's getting less than 20 minutes a game, everything goes to shit and all his percentages drop by 10%. Do you really want to commit to 20+ minutes to this guy every night? I wouldn't.
Especially for a guy who's one mental breakdown away from getting himself thrown off a team.

I get he's the opposite of Lin, but only because I can bench Jeremy when he's playing poorly and not worry about him. If I bench JR, he can go into a emotional outrage and cause team disruption.

Like I said earlier, I would've taken an older Alan Anderson at $4M for one year over this guy.

Nailed it. Couldn't be said better.

[swagga]

I've had ample time to follow JR Smith throughout his career and most of it has left me undoubtedly sure that he's a waste of talent. For every game winning play he makes, there's at least 4-5 mistakes he made earlier in the game that could've prevented the team from needing his potential late game heroics later on.

The guy is selfish, and I don't like the idea of a guy being good at defense only when he's "focused". Especially for a guy who's been characterized as unfocused for the majority of his career.

Also I don't support the claim that he's a spot up shooter. He's a volume shooter who needs to shoot himself into rhythm. He's no spot up shooter in the traditional sense. He needs to shoot himself in games. And if he's not hot, he's shooting the team into losses. He cannot be inserted and asked to be productive for the minutes he's been given like so many other spot up specialists in this league (e.g. Kyle Korver, Danny Green, JJ Redick, or even Richard Jefferson at this point of his career) He needs at least 25 minutes and time with the ball in his hand to attempt slashing and his very streaky step back jumper. If you look at his stats where he's getting less than 20 minutes a game, everything goes to shit and all his percentages drop by 10%. Do you really want to commit to 20+ minutes to this guy every night? I wouldn't.
Especially for a guy who's one mental breakdown away from getting himself thrown off a team.

I get he's the opposite of Lin, but only because I can bench Jeremy when he's playing poorly and not worry about him. If I bench JR, he can go into a emotional outrage and cause team disruption.

Like I said earlier, I would've taken an older Alan Anderson at $4M for one year over this guy.

if you followed him for his career than you should know he performs best when playing on a team with leadership (billups denver) where he is not asked to do anything as a first or second option.

Imo you don't understand jr smith's utility. He isn't a spot up shooter, he is an elite streak scorer. In the 4th option situation for the cavs he is an elite role player because he gives you something truly unique : he can come in and go on scoring sprees and he can also be benched if his shot is not falling. If he is shooting well he is bringing you back in the game or building the lead, and doing it fast. If not he sits on the bench or the team runs other plays. A true spark off the bench. He is much more valuable than a run off the mill 3p role player.

[BigNBAfan]

Anyone that thinks 1year 6.5 is better than 2 year 10 is an idiot

[Meticode]

Anyone that thinks 1year 6.5 is better than 2 year 10 is an idiot
It's better for both the Cavs and Smith. Smith gets more garaunteed long-term money, with the ability to opt out when the cap increases and cannot be traded. The Cavs get tax relief. It's a win-win financially for both.

[RedBlackAttack]

JR Smith is usually pretty good - until crunch time. Book that.
Ok.

It's a good thing we have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao then.

JR is a role player on this team. Nothing more. And, that's when he is at his best. If you have to rely on him too much, you're in trouble. The Cavs don't have to.

[chips93]

If you look at his stats where he's getting less than 20 minutes a game, everything goes to shit and all his percentages drop by 10%. Do you really want to commit to 20+ minutes to this guy every night? I wouldn't.

this past year he only had 6 games where he played less than 6 minutes, adding to a total of 100 minutes, thats too small a sample size to draw any meaningfull conclusions.

when he played 20-29 minutes, he shot 45%, and when he played 30-39 minutes he shot 41%

so this argument really doesnt hold up

[GOBB]

How does no other team give him 5.5 just to keep him off of the Cavs

Dumb shits. Philly could do it, not win any more games, and weaken the Cavs.

So overpay the guy just so Cavs don't have him? That's dumb. Philly would have had to give him way more than $5.5mil to take keep him from playing for Clev. And why would any rebuilding team want to not only overpay the guy but have him? He only excels in situations that are good. He would be a dog here and end up being traded.

It's Jr friggin Smith, cmon. :confusedshrug:

[Duderonomy]

JR is the only reasonable contract the Cavs have now. :D

[RidonKs]

Cavaliers 2015-16 Depth Charts if Thompson resigns with the team.

C- Timothy Mozgov, Anderson Varejao
F- Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson
F - LeBron James, Richard Jefferson
G- Imam Shumpert, JR Smith, James Jones
G- Kyrie Irving, Mo Williams, Matthew Dellavedova
talent + depth + chemistry in the goat status... and thats before any championship has been won. they are the odds on favourite, and as it happens, their odds would appear to improve without their third best player :lol

but they'll still lose to san antonio who match up PERFECTLY to them, except at point guard.

[Rose'sACL]

JR is the only reasonable contract the Cavs have now. :D
lebron and kyrie play for the cavs in case you have not noticed.

[RedBlackAttack]

lebron and kyrie play for the cavs in case you have not noticed.
Actually, the only contract on the payroll I don't like is Varejao's $10m per year. Outside of that, everything looks good... and they'll especially look good in a couple of years when the cap spikes. Having Kyrie and KLove on longterm contracts going into next offseason when we may see salary reaching up into $30m per year couldn't be any more perfect.

There's a reason everyone just assumed Love would sign a one year deal and then get that money.

[J Shuttlesworth]

RBA, is there any news on the TT front? I haven't been keeping up

[RedBlackAttack]

RBA, is there any news on the TT front? I haven't been keeping up
There was a report a few days ago that the two sides are "not far apart," although I can't speak to its validity.

I've heard some interesting news lately on Anderson Varejao which initially surprised me a bit... but then not so much after I thought about it.

Tristan is going to be here probably for the rest of his career. There's really no chance of him going elsewhere, based on what I've heard. This is all about Rich Paul attempting to maximize his value. It'll get worked out soon enough.

Andy, though... let's just wait and see what happens. :lebronamazed:

[J Shuttlesworth]

There was a report a few days ago that the two sides are "not far apart," although I can't speak to its validity.

I've heard some interesting news lately on Anderson Varejao which initially surprised me a bit... but then not so much after I thought about it.

Tristan is going to be here probably for the rest of his career. There's really no chance of him going elsewhere, based on what I've heard. This is all about Rich Paul attempting to maximize his value. It'll get worked out soon enough.

Andy, though... let's just wait and see what happens. :lebronamazed:
Andy? :biggums: DETAILS NGA

[RedBlackAttack]

Andy? :biggums: DETAILS NGA
Can't say much. Step 1 ---> http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=384723

Draw your own conclusions.

[RidonKs]

will they trade andy? that would hurt since he's been the soul of the franchise since lebron left. i wonder who would be interested in him at presumably bargain value... if he's healthy, he is a high impact player

[RedBlackAttack]

will they trade andy? that would hurt since he's been the soul of the franchise since lebron left. i wonder who would be interested in him at presumably bargain value... if he's healthy, he is a high impact player
He's coming off of probably the most devastating injury in the sport, is aging, and, with Tristan signing soon, Andy's $10 million contract will cost the Cavs roughly $40 million when luxury taxes are figured in. That's a lot.

I love Andy. My heart says hold onto him. There is sound logic behind eliminating that contract, though. The NBA can be a cold business.

[TheMarkMadsen]

we could still use some more shooters, another shot creator some more defense on the perimeter a little more depth at the 4 but otherwise not bad at all

definitely lacking in some major areas but lebron should be able to carry this team

[J Shuttlesworth]

Can't say much. Step 1 ---> http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=384723

Draw your own conclusions.
Damn, didn't see that :eek:

[J Shuttlesworth]

we could still use some more shooters, another shot creator some more defense on the perimeter a little more depth at the 4 but otherwise not bad at all

definitely lacking in some major areas but lebron should be able to carry this team
http://i.imgur.com/w97EUiH.gif

[TheMarkMadsen]

but seriously Richard Jefferson is Lebron's back up..

hopefully we can swing Andy's contract for Crawford or Joe Johnson, maybe Derozen if we are lucky, hell I would be happy with Jeff Green..

[SwishSquared]

He's coming off of probably the most devastating injury in the sport, is aging, and, with Tristan signing soon, Andy's $10 million contract will cost the Cavs roughly $40 million when luxury taxes are figured in. That's a lot.

I love Andy. My heart says hold onto him. There is sound logic behind eliminating that contract, though. The NBA can be a cold business.It wouldn't shock me if Andy's totally done. History is definitely not on his side with the latest injury. I doubt he's gone before this year's end, if nothing else to see how Kaun adjusts and maybe to get him a ring as a player. Couldn't have a better locker room guy this year for this squad imo.

If that's the case, I think there's a good chance that he gets traded, along with Osman + filler, to Philly in a salary dump that'll land CLE yet another TPE. Could see Andy joining the front office shortly afterwards. Or the Cavs could stretch/waive him, which could be better since they don't surrender players/picks/swaps/etc.

[Duderonomy]

Actually, the only contract on the payroll I don't like is Varejao's $10m per year. Outside of that, everything looks good... and they'll especially look good in a couple of years when the cap spikes. Having Kyrie and KLove on longterm contracts going into next offseason when we may see salary reaching up into $30m per year couldn't be any more perfect.

There's a reason everyone just assumed Love would sign a one year deal and then get that money.
Lebron will be asking for $24.6 mil per next year. :D
TT is a 10 mil player you will be paying him 16-17 per.
Health will be a factor for Love and Kyrie. Mozgov imo is more valuable than TT he might be looking for over $10 mil a season.

[smoovegittar]

Ok.

It's a good thing we have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao then.

JR is a role player on this team. Nothing more. And, that's when he is at his best. If you have to rely on him too much, you're in trouble. The Cavs don't have to.
Understood. But last year bolsters my statement. IMO, Smith tarnishes a team's image with his lunacy. But you're right - what have Cav fans to worry about?

[ihatetimthomas]

but seriously Richard Jefferson is Lebron's back up..

hopefully we can swing Andy's contract for Crawford or Joe Johnson, maybe Derozen if we are lucky, hell I would be happy with Jeff Green..

lol "happy with Jeff Green". You act like you would settle for Jeff Green. Varejao is getting none of those players above or anything of real value. You guys are stuck with him unless you take on some horrid contract

[G-train]

hopefully we can swing Andy's contract for Crawford or Joe Johnson, maybe Derozen if we are lucky, hell I would be happy with Jeff Green..

Yep hopefully Miami can trade James Ennis for Kevin Durant.

[jbryan1984]

I really love Varejao, I want to keep him. The thing people forget through out all these injuries is, since LeBron left, Andy was stuck being the full time center. He had never done that before. Don't get me wrong, he is a big dude but his natural position was always power forward and he would fill in for the center while they took a breather. So, he was doing more work and playing a lot more minutes the last 5 years. Now, we have Mozgov, TT, Love, Kaun, they can limit his minutes through out the season and extend them in the post season. I really think he would of been fine had we got Mozgov before his injury. I get he is older now but still, nobody plays with the heart that Varejao does when he is healthy. He is such a valuable player, especially with the offensive rebounds. You see TT do a lot of that now, you know Andy is behind it.

[RedBlackAttack]

Apparently some people need to recalibrate their sarcasm detectors re: MarkMadsen.

He's not a Cavs fan.

[AnaheimLakers24]

3rd most alpha player on the cavs.
kyrie
delly
and the dumbass will get them back to the finals. Hopefully LeLittle doesnt fold again

[ihatetimthomas]

Apparently some people need to recalibrate their sarcasm detectors re: MarkMadsen.

He's not a Cavs fan.

Not everyone is on here 24/7 and has tallies of every users team

[RedBlackAttack]

Not everyone is on here 24/7 and has tallies of every users team
I don't personally think it is necessary to be on here "24/7," which I'm not either btw, to sense sarcasm. When comments are so obviously over-the-top, you have to wonder about sarcasm, no?