Report: Cleveland Cavaliers Agree To Re-sign J.R. Smith
After a summer-long standstill, the Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to terms on a four-year, $57 million contract with free agent J.R. Smith.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had one final piece of business to take care of this summer as they prepare to repeat in NBA champions in 2016-17. It came down to the wire, but the Cavs finally wised up and decided to pay the piper.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Cavaliers have agreed to a four-year, $57 million contract extension for J.R. Smith.
Though the 31-year-old starting shooting guard struggled during the team’s triumphant comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, he was an intrinsic part of the team’s success all year long. He averaged 12.4 points, 1.1 steals and 2.6 three-pointers per game last season, bringing a heightened sense of focus on the defensive end as well.
Smith was important to the Cavaliers’ potent three-point attack, converting 40 percent of his 6.6 three-point attempts per night. In the playoffs he was even better, bumping those numbers up to 43 percent efficiency on 7.2 three-point attempts per game.
In the championship series, Smith struggled. His numbers dropped to 10.6 points per game on .400/.356/.667 shooting splits and he made the type of boneheaded plays that have become as synonymous with his career as his high-flying athleticism and constant heat checks.
More on FanSided:
However, he found his groove over the last three wins of the series, averaging 12.0 points per game and making two key baskets late in Game 7 to help keep the Cavs ahead.
In any case, he was much better than defensive specialist Iman Shumpert, who would’ve been Smith’s replacement as starting shooting guard had the Cavs been unable to reach an agreement with their lone remaining free agent.
ESPN sources say a hard push from Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo for J.R. Smith helped sparked Friday's talks with the Cavs to get a deal done
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 15, 2016
Re-signing J.R. Smith removes any distraction and potential drama from the offseason, allowing Cleveland to focus on its title defense against a Golden State Warriors juggernaut that just added Kevin Durant.
In even happier news, J.R. Smith quickly announced via Uninterrupted that he and his wife are expecting:
.@TheRealJRSmith and family are beyond thrilled to be back with the @cavs but also have some other BIG news to share. pic.twitter.com/NvC9bXjtTt
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) October 15, 2016
LeBron James had been openly campaigning for the Cavs to take care of business and re-sign J.R. all summer, and in typical fashion for any player whose agent is Rich Paul, it came down to the wire.
The same thing happened with the restricted free agencies of Tristan Thompson (Cavs) and Eric Bledsoe (Phoenix Suns), two other clients of Paul’s. In all three instances though, Paul’s man got paid.
Next: 20 Richest NBA Players of All-Time
Smith, who spent his summer winning over America for good with heartfelt press conferences and by swearing off shirts forever, finally got his well-deserved payday that is more than fair for his market value. Only time will tell what kind of shirts he’s able to buy with all that extra cash flow.