The Latest on J.R. Smith: Joining LeBron in Cleveland
J.R. SmithAfter failing to work a sign-and-trade for Luol Deng last week, the Cavs still have nothing to show for this offseason. Sure they re-signed Daniel Gibson, and it looks like Delonte West will either re-up for a four-year deal or will take the remaining one year at $2.7 million (bogus European rumors). But with Eastern Conference foe Detroit being mentioned in a weekly potential blockbuster, it looks like GM Danny Ferry is just sitting contently on his hands by comparison.
Do the Cavs have to do something to try to keep LeBron satisfied? Granted they were trying to improve the squad with last year’s trade deadline move for Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Delonte West, but they’re not much closer to being a championship contender than before the deal.
Unlike some of the other rumblings out of Cleveland, which have sounded like they were rearranging a bunch of D-Leaguers, a move involving J.R. Smith could pay big dividends.
The Cavs are talking to Denver about restricted free agent J.R. Smith, and they should go after him hard. The 6-6 Smith is athletic, shot 40 percent on 3-pointers and 46 percent overall while averaging 12.3 points in only 19 minutes a game. With Denver signing wing man Dahntay Jones and being on a binge to cut payroll (they gave Marcus Camby to the Clippers to cut $10 million), it seems Smith should be available.
Doesn’t this seem like a no-brainer? When LeBron found a hot-handed Wally Szczerbiak in the playoffs, the Cavs looked tough enough to go the distance in a series. If you could get Wally, Boobie and J.R. consistently raining triples, this team could develop an identity that is not exclusively about LeBron.
What do you think about building a championship caliber team in Cleveland around LeBron and some trigger-happy perimeter players?
Source: Cleveland.com
August 4th, 2008 at 8:43 am
shake&bake says:
I like J.R. Smith’s game and he can take some of the scoring load off of LeBron, but I don’t think he is the type of player that can put Cleveland over the top. Maybe with a couple years of maturity he can become that player because he has the talent.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:10 am
YOUNGFED says:
NOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo………!
August 4th, 2008 at 9:10 am
dukesman2000 says:
The Cavs are going to mess around and before they know it they’re going to be in a bidding war with the Knicks and Nets over Lebron; and school children in England know they can’t win that battle.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Mikey F Baby says:
If Denver lets JR get away I’m not renewing my League Pass subscription. Honest to God
August 4th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Sam I Am says:
Cleveland needs to just accept the inevitable; LeBron is not happy there.
There Front Office is a joke and ONLY got good because they sucked so bad they got the # 1 pick and had LeBron land in it.
They will lose him to NY/NJ in a few seasons. He’s young, rich, and wants to win so that’s it.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Sam I Am says:
Their*
August 4th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Joshua says:
J.R Smith willmake cleveland one of the most dangerous sqauds in the east if they can keep his crazy additude in check because he is one of the most underrated players in the league alotta people don’t appreciated what he brings to the table and that’s scoring and energy and he can’t be left alone on the 3p line because he we’ll make it rain on you and because of this lebron will have it allot better with J.R in the starting lineup it would be scary for other teams witrh wally and J.r on both sides of Lebron
August 4th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Sith Lord 24 says:
i say do it… a change will be good for JR.. i know he was young and dumb but all of us were! the rewards outway the risks in this case.. get this guy. him and LBJ could be a force in the East for years to come.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Coop says:
Doesn’t address their lack of a ball-handler other than Bron but I love nutters so I’m a JR fan. 45 for a behind the back dunk? Get outta here!
August 4th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Celts Fan says:
What do you think about building a championship caliber team in Cleveland around LeBron and some trigger-happy perimeter players?
I think that’s EXACTLY what you need. For a guy that whose passing ability was being compared w/ Magic when he first entered the league, he’s had no shooters at all to kick it out to when he draws the inevitable double or triple team.
I do think that trade last year made them better too. Let Ben walk after next the 2010 season, resign Delonte, use Wally’s expiring deal as the huge chip it is (or keep him and resign him for a MUCH lower deal for next year. His shooting ability is pretty nice,though you want him coming off the bench.) I also like Joe Smith. That guy can get buckets down low. Good rotation guy (and expiring contract to dangle to a team like Denver. As badly as they want to shed payroll, why not offer Wally, Joe Smith (combined almost $20M in expiring deals,) Delonte/Boobie, and a #1 for Melo and one of their terrible contracts (Nene or KMart?) Pretty sure that keeps LeBron in Cleveland if they could actually swindle Denver like that.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Celts Fan says:
*I know there’d need to be some filler added to make the #s work in that propsed deal, but Cleveland has the expiring deals (about $30M worth of them!) to make it happen if Denver really does wanna deal a young star with extremely minor off-court issues (DUI is dumb, but it’s not like he was punching the elderly or slinging rock.) Don’t get why they’d deal him, but I know I’d swoop in before they come to their senses if I’m the rest of the league…
August 4th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
How come there was no mention of a Deng sign and trade to Cleveland scenario prior to today?
August 4th, 2008 at 10:06 am
elk burger says:
A Martell Webster trade would be a whole lot better.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Coop says:
Denver aren’t idiots they dont need to shave 13mil off, especially not if it’s Melo. This is a business.
You wouldn’t even get AI for that little lot never mind Melo.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:28 am
JarrJohnson says:
If the Nuggets trade J.R., I’m puttin my hands on somebody in the front office.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Dagomar says:
Man the bottom line is the Cavs don’t need more castoffs from other teams. That roster is full of mediocre players. They need to package some for a star, otherwise Lebron’s gone.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Logan Light says:
Shake and Bake said it best: This is not going to put Cleveland over the top. Will they be better? Yep. But part of the problem with JR is his maturity… can playing with LeBron pull him in?
In any light, if the Cavs don’t go after him, they’ll leave ‘Bron scratching his head on whether they’re trying to build for him or not. Better show your cards.
LL
August 4th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Joshua says:
J.R smith has all the quality to be a star worsed case scenario he’ll be a 20 point averages player in the cavs system but i’ll bet with lebron on his side he’ll be a star maybe not a allstar but atleast lebron’s scoring buddy and a easy THREE when they leave him open to double or triple team Lebron
August 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am
DurrtyInjun says:
More of an explosive, streaky athlete than a star, but would be a relatively low cost stop-gap (with potential keeper ability) who would also probably be more attractive (than other Cleveland players) to other teams in a trade package later on for a better player.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:52 am
jz_smoove says:
JR Smith is a good pickup, you cant really think of locker room issues right now. he’s a nutcase hothead so what? doesnt matter right now. there is no locker room to implode anyway, they must win at this moment then try work things out later
August 4th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
nick says:
the nuggets got rid of camby so they could re-sign jr. i would be very suprised if he goes anywhere but denver.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
MJAX says:
I think it would be exciting to see him and Bron on the break and in the halfcourt. The issue is, will Bron be staying down the line. He wants to be an billionaire, you don’t think he and Jay Z have discussed how that’s gonna happen with the Nets or the Knicks??? And if Denver lets J.R. and Camby and Najera go, they become the old Clippers, the Raptors with vince and TMAC!! You think A.I. has went off before behind being in a bad situation, you will have him and MELO pissed and gunning just to take the 10th seed in the WEST..
August 4th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
LakeShow84 says:
This would have disaster written all over it.. lol
August 4th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
MOVEZ GALORE says:
WE GOING TO THE CHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!YES SIR ALL WE NEED IS KOBE…LOL!!!!!!!!!!LBJ ALL DAY BABY
August 4th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
doc says:
Jr is a good weapon to have.Bron could do some things with him.
August 4th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
dagwaller says:
Like Dime pointed out a few days ago, this is increasingly a 3 star a team league. I’m not a huge fan of JR, but he could be a third star. Ha, they should’ve tried to get Camby, though, if Denver was feeling charitable.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
V says:
No Denver nooooooooooo!!
August 4th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
doc says:
@dag this been a 3 star team league.Besides the lockout Spurs and Keems Rockets,who didnt have 3 stars.Celts this year,SPurs had they 3 for years now,Miami only had Wade and Shaq thats 1 but Zo debateable because he was a star on D in that chip.Detroit had a big 5 in they year,La with Kob and Shaq had 2 but I guess that speak for Shaq abilities that he was on the most recent 2 man teams.Mike Scottie and Rodman/Kukoc, or Grant in the earlier years.Bad Boys had about 6 legit ballers in they own right,Magic,Kareem,and Worthy equal 3 just like Bird,Parish and Mcale just like Doc Moses and Toney.This aint new.
August 4th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Aaron says:
Ricky Davis all over again. You better not do this Ferry!
August 4th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
!?!?!?!?!??!?!! says:
AI should be going to Cleveland too then…now that would be a team!!!!!!
August 4th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
What is this!? says:
I just wish it was Iverson going to play next to Lebron
JR is a decent player and has a lot of upsight to him. But he won’t see that upsight in Denver, he needs to leave because the Nuggets are just wasting his time the same way they are seemingly trying to waste Iversons. SMH
August 4th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
dagwaller says:
@ doc
I knew that. Thanks anyway.
August 4th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
GEE...1 word says:
Need
August 4th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Brandon Hoffman says:
This rumor brings up the question of J.R. Smith’s worth. If Monta Ellis is worth $10 million plus per season, than J.R. is worth far more than the mid-level exception. Would the Nuggets match an offer in the $10 million dollar range? As a Denver resident, I hope so. Would Cleveland — which had the 3rd highest payroll in the league last season — be able to offer Smith a contract like that? No. Not unless Denver was willing to take back Wally Szczerbiak or Ben Wallace’s contract. Which isn’t happening.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
dagwaller says:
Brandon, do you really think that JR Smith is as good as Monta Ellis/10 million per? I don’t, but if you’re from Denver, you probably know more about him than I do.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:44 am
What is this!? says:
dagwaller,
Most Nuggets fans are blind homer fans…no JR is NOT worth $10 million per…he is worth more then the MLE (how much more? I don’t know..), but he is not worth $10 million and NO team is going to offer him that so the Nuggets fans can sit back, relax and have a coke and a smile.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:07 am
Coop says:
brandon have you lost your mind? Monta shoots around 50% which is just incredible, rebounds like jkidd jnr and is a 20ppg guy. Smith is/does none of those things.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:08 am
biggeddy says:
Iverson has a much better chance to be traded then ‘Melo. He’s much older and makes a ton. In fact, I could see Denver signing JR Smith for cheaper and trading AI while getting some young players back. Kinda rebuild for the future, maybe even include Kmart or Nene, whichever has a worse contract. Get Wally’s and Joe Smith’s expiring deals, and maybe West to run the point. Denver saves a lot of cash and gets rally young, while Cavs will be in win-now mode.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:43 am
What is this!? says:
^^ The best thing that could happen to Iverson is for him to leave Denver one way or the other. At this point, the Nuggets organization will be switching players in and out every three years (considering that is what they have been doing)..their organization does not seem to have any idea in how to build a contending team..they made a major trade for Iverson even though they were NOT ready to contend..i’m starting to think the only reason why they brought Iverson there was to garner more attention for that franchise, sale jerseys and tickets. They couldn’t afford him when they got him and are now paying the price. ANd thats what they get for bringing that guy there when they knew they were not ready to contend now. Just wasted Iversons time.
Carmelo is not a leader nor a real franchise player and although I don’t think he is worth building around, he should stay in Denver considering that is the only place that will put up with his half effort he gives. I really do wish Iverson would have went to play with Lebron. SMH