As most hoops fans know by now, Cleveland Cavaliers sharptshooter J.R. Smith was suspended from Thursday night’s 108-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers due to detrimental conduct. At first, there was a lot of speculation as to what this “detrimental conduct” might have been. However, it was later revealed that Smith had thrown a bowl of soup at assistant coach Damon Jones. Though he didn’t want to talk about it much, LeBron James was asked to comment on the situation after Saturday’s practice session.
“Ain’t got nothing to do with me,” James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “No. Momma told me a long time ago to mind your business. Stay out of grown folks’ business that ain’t got nothing to do with me. That’s what I did.
“I think he knows how important he is to our ball club,” James continued. “Both offensively and defensively since he got here. … We know it’s been a challenging year for him, but we expect for him to be there when we need him.”
Smith, one of the four remaining members of Cleveland’s 2016 championship squad, has made 59 appearances with the Cavs this season, averaging 8.3 points on 39.2 percent shooting from the field (36.3 percent from beyond the arc), 3.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
“It just sucks to be going through a process that we’re going through right now with myself to be looked at … to be looked at as one of the leaders and one of the heads of this team and to be going through this situation,” Smith said. “But everybody has their ups and downs. I can’t say I hope they learn from my mistakes, I just hope they don’t do it. But it definitely puts perspective for the younger guys.”
The Cavs will be back in action on Saturday night, as they’re scheduled to host Richard Jefferson and the Denver Nuggets. Tip-off inside Quicken Loans Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. EST with FOX Sports Ohio having live broadcast coverage.
