The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to try and find trade routes in order to move JR Smith off of the team, but according to multiple reports, it seems as if the team had the opportunity during the 2019 NBA Draft. Some reports even mention that the Cavs turned down offers that would have netted them first-round picks as well.
According to a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, the Cavaliers turned down “a few offers” that would have returned them a first-round pick in exchange for Smith. While the exact layout of the deals are uncertain, it seems as if the team simply didn’t want to move Smith for whatever deal it was.
At the moment, the Cavaliers have until Sunday to move on from Smith before his $15.6 million contract becomes fully guaranteed. While waiving Smith seems to be an option (and a very likely one, according to some reports), the Cavs are still looking to try and make a deal. According to Cavs general manager Koby Altman, the team is trying to do so without going into the tax.
“We’re definitely going to investigate what we can do there,” Altman said. “There’s a pain threshold of doing it, going into the tax, which we would have to do in terms of taking back money and the rest of the NBA knowing that we’re in the tax and my job would be getting us out of the tax.”
As is the case with all trades, value is the big thing. While the Cavs would love to deal Smith, they want to get back some sort of value for the player if they are going to do so. While teams have certainly called about the sharpshooting guard, it remains to be seen if a deal can be reached. One thing is for certain though, and that we’ll know by Sunday what becomes of this.