J.R. Smith was a huge piece of the Cavs championship core, but he is one of two players who have yet to re-sign with the team. LeBron James has informed everybody that he’s going to return to Cleveland, while J.R. reportedly wants to return as well.
Cavs GM David Griffin tells @espn to expect a JR Smith re-signing: "When the time is right something will get done. I'm very confident …"
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 14, 2016
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During the Cavs’ Summer League game against the Celtics, GM David Griffin spoke on on the delay of the Smith signing. Via Fear The Sword:
“I think the good news is J.R. wants to be here and we want J.R. back,” Griffin said on ESPN during the Cavs’ summer league game vs. the Celtics. “These things sometimes take time and he has representatives that want him to be with us as well. When the time is right something will get done. I’m very confident about that.”
“We do have Bird rights with him and we can do what we need to do,” Griffin said. “I don’t think anything else needs to happen with that.”
At this point, having Smith’s Bird rights helps with the ability to pay Smith more, and after the pay cut he took last season, he’ll look to get paid. Oh, and having Rich Paul, who is LeBron’s agent as well as Tristan Thompson’s agent, is only going to help Smith.
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J.R. spoke on ESPN’s ‘His And Hers’ earlier this week about the delay:
It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Smith re-signs with the Cavs, but both sides are looking for a number that will work for one another.
