48 hours after J.R. Smith cost the Cleveland Cavaliers a chance to take the first game of the 2018 NBA Finals, the rage that many Cleveland fans held against Smith had subsided, and the view of Smith had returned to normal. This was because Cavs fans knew Smith well. They knew the type of player and person he was. And they knew that no one was harder on Smith for his mistake than himself.
One month before the trade deadline during the 2014-2015 season, the Cavaliers shocked the NBA by orchestrating a three-team trade that transformed their team.
Cleveland received: SG J.R. Smith, SG Iman Shumpert, OKC 2015 first-round pick
Oklahoma City received: SG Dion Waiters
New York received: SF Lance Thomas, PF Lou Amundson, C Alex Kirk, CLE 2019 second-round pick
Waiters was not a good fit as the third option behind LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland, and even though his role didn’t change in Oklahoma City (as he played with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook), he performed much better with his new team.
Smith and Shumpert also needed a change of scenery, and Cleveland needed what each player could provide. When he was locked in, Smith was a very good perimeter defender and a very good outside shooter. This was the first of many moves to surround James with sharpshooters.
Shumpert was a better defender than Smith, although his offensive game had not yet developed. The new additions helped the Cavs reach the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2006-2007 season, and were crucial in winning two games in that series. Both players held significant roles the year after, helping Cleveland capture its first-ever NBA championship.
Due to a string of injuries and poor performance, Shumpert eventually lost his spot in the rotation and was traded for George Hill at the deadline in 2017-2018. Smith remains on the team, although his future is cloudy.
After an injury-riddled 2016-2017 season in which he played in just 41 games and shot 35 percent from the field, Smith improved marginally in 2017-2018. He shot 40 percent from the field and 38 percent from distance, while taking 1.3 fewer shots per game than the season before.
Smith wasn’t quite back to his 2015-2016 form, but his improvement was sorely needed regardless. In typical J.R. Smith fashion, he had an up-and-down postseason.
He opened the playoffs by scoring 15 points against the Indiana Pacers, and scored 13 in the next two games combined. After a 12 point performance in Game 4, he missed all eight of his shot attempts in Game 5.
Smith’s best game of the postseason was the first against the Toronto Raptors, when the Cavaliers needed all 20 of his points to win by one. Smith was 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and added two steals defensively.
But people won’t remember that. When the name J.R. Smith is brought up, the first thought for many will be this:
And that’s not entirely fair. Was it an inexcusable blunder? Of course. Did it cost the team an opening victory? Probably. Did it completely change the momentum of the series? Absolutely.
One person’s mistake, even if huge and likely the most notable, shouldn’t define him or her. Then again…
This wasn’t the first time that Smith has had an on-court mental lapse:
But Smith’s legacy shouldn’t be defined by one bad play. There is no way that the Cavs win the 2015-2016 Finals without him, and it’s quite possible that they are unable to make it all the way for four consecutive years if Smith is not on the team. And if fans were disappointed after Game 1, imagine how Smith felt (and still feels).
With that said, it’s no guarantee that he remains with the Cavaliers for next season. He will turn 33 in September, but his age is the least of the factors which may lead to his departure. The first is consistency. Smith is an incredibly streaky player. When he’s on, he can make shots from anywhere on the floor. But when he’s cold, it seems like he can’t throw a pea in the ocean.
Reliability is something that the Cavs don’t really have outside of LeBron James and Kevin Love, and sometimes Love can’t be included in that. Cleveland is desperate for another player who can take over a game and create their own shot, and that player may end up replacing Smith. Portland’s C.J. McCollum and Washington’s Bradley Beal both fit that description, and if either player is added, Smith becomes an afterthought.
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If the Cavs were able to land a Beal or McCollum, Smith would be the perfect backup; a solid defender who can fill up the stat sheet in a hurry. But this leads to the second factor: his contract. Smith is owed $14.7 million this coming season and $15.7 million in 2019-2020. However, the final year on his deal is non-guaranteed. Only $3.8 million would be owed to Smith if he is cut before June 29th, 2019.
This effectively makes Smith’s contract an expiring deal, which will be attractive to a team looking to clear cap space and move on from poor contracts.
If LeBron James leaves to sign with a different team this summer, Smith could be dealt to a squad in exchange for a bad contract and a draft pick. Every team has them. The Memphis Grizzlies have quite a few, including Chandler Parsons, Marc Gasol, and Mike Conley. Gasol and Conley would be good additions to a Cavs team that retains James.
With James, the Cavaliers may end up trading the player they select with the eighth overall pick, and Smith could be a part of a deal. He would be at worst a rotational piece on nearly every NBA team, and his contract could help out a team pushing up against the salary cap next season.
Smith’s future with the Cavs is nearly impossible to predict. He could stay with the team or be traded whether James leaves or not. If Smith is one of the offseason casualties, it won’t be a happy situation, as Smith and his family have embraced Cleveland, and the city has done the same reciprocally. Whatever happens, Smith will forever be a Cleveland champion.
