With the Cleveland Cavaliers struggling quite a bit in the Eastern Conference, there are NBA trade rumors suggesting J.R. Smith could be on the move. The team is looking to make a splash of some sort in the coming week as they need a serious boost to get things going. Would they be able to get something decent for their veteran guard? Here are the latest details on what has been said and what is expected for the Cavaliers going forward into the NBA trade deadline.
According to Cleveland Plain Dealer ‘s Terry Pluto, various teams have been offered guard J.R. Smith. As Pluto notes, Smith is getting $13.7 million this season and is on the books for $14.7 million for next season. He’ll have $3.9 million guaranteed on a $15.7 million salary for 2019-20. That said, it’s believed that the team would have trouble moving just Smith by himself in any sort of deal based on his slump this season. The veteran guard is averaging 7.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, with a 37.7 percent shooting average. Smith has now been in the league for 13 years, with stints in Denver and New York before playing these last three seasons in Cleveland with LeBron James.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are still amongst the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but seem far from dominant as they’ve gone just 4-6 over their last 10 games. The team held a 30-20 record going into Saturday night’s home game against the Houston Rockets, but were three-point underdogs at home for the matchup. As of this report, they were down by 24 points in the game. While that’s not necessarily J.R. Smith’s fault, the team probably needs to make a serious move to help give them more help to contend with other top teams in the East.
To make a deal involving their guard, Cleveland would need to be willing to add some more to the package, such as their future draft picks. Teams would be highly unlikely to take on Smith, with his high price and declining numbers. The most likely scenario is that the Cleveland Cavaliers will wait until next season to move J.R. Smith since they will also have LeBron James heading into NBA free agency and it could be time to reshape their roster.
