JR Smith and the Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed on a separation. This was confirmed by the franchise on Tuesday evening.
“The organization wishes JR and his family all the best and appreciates his commitment to the community, the team and his role in the 2016 NBA title,” the Cavs press release said.
Together player and franchise want to find a suitable trade. A buyout is probably out of the question for the Cavs at the moment. Smith have been pledged $14.7 million this season. Moreover, his current contract guarantees him 3.87 million dollars of his salary (15.68 million dollars) in the coming season.
The friction between Smith and the Cavs officials has continued since this summer. Again and again he let his desire to change shimmer through, sometimes more, sometimes less subtly.
Smiths’ Tanking accusation at the beginning of the week then apparently cut the tape with the cavs for good. “I don’t think winning is the goal. The goal is more to develop the team and get lottery picks. I think that was always the plan,” he told The Athletic.
Should the Cavs-Pick not fall into the Top 10 after this season, the Atlanta Hawks will receive its rights. The trade for Kyle Korver from 2017 is the reason for this.
In addition to the sporting failure (Cavs balance: 2-13), Smith is dissatisfied with his time on the field. On average, the Shooting Guard is only 20.2 minutes on the floor. For comparison: calculated on his entire career he comes to 27 minutes per match.
However, the 33-year-old has simply not convinced in the games so far: 6.7 points (career low) at 34 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from downtown.