Did Cleveland Cavaliers Create Another Chemistry Issue by Acquiring J.R. Smith?
Chemistry is essential to any successful NBA team, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to build some.
It's the reason coach David Blatt recently skipped practice to take his team bowling, and why general manager David Griffin has added so many high-character veteran players to the roster.
One of Griffin's most recent additions, however, will test that practice.
J.R Smith, he of both superior talent and headache, is now a Cavalier, for better or worse.
Cleveland traded a similar guard in Dion Waiters, who ultimately never fit his role with the team. Chemistry issues often popped up with Waiters, making the decision to deal him that much easier.
Now with Smith as his successor, are things better, or do chemistry problems remain?
The Dion Dilemma
Over the past three years, the chemistry issues plaguing the Cavaliers stemmed from the Waiters-Kyrie Irving relationship.
The duo never developed any synergy. All three of Waiters' Cavs coaches (Byron Scott, Mike Brown and David Blatt) tried him as a starter next to Irving. All ended up benching Waiters and his ball-dominant style of play.
Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine revealed some disturbing news early in their second year together:
"Waiters and Irving are not close. Waiters believes the Cavaliers have a double standard when it comes to Irving, sources said. Waiters feels that while Irving is allowed to get away with loafing defensively, making turnovers and taking bad shots, he is taken out of games for such things.
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While some may point out that this transpired over 14 months prior to Waiters being dealt, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio recently echoed the same news.
Waiters and Irving just weren't a good pairing. Obviously, a change had to be made.
The problem with swapping Waiters with Smith? The two aren't really all that different.
The Waiters-Smith Connection
Waiters and Smith have a lot in common on the court.
Neither is shy about shooting, nor has either met a shot he didn't like. Both possess the confidence and no-fear attitude it takes to succeed. However, they're lacking in humility.
Talent isn't a question for either. Focus and bravado are.
Shot selection has always been an issue for both. Waiters is far better when he drives to the basket, yet he fell in love with the step-back jumper in Cleveland. Smith has beautiful shot mechanics, but he often tries to execute them from well behind the three-point line or when heavily guarded.
Waiters, for all his talent, is a lifetime 42 percent shooter from the field. Smith, unsurprisingly, is a very similar 42.4 percent.
In many ways, Smith is the blueprint for the type of player some fear Waiters will become (and arguably is now): able to heat up at a moment's notice with plenty of cold streaks mixed in. The result? Being without the wherewithal to differentiate a good shot attempt from a bad one.
The Cavaliers just got rid of one headache, but given Smith's history, will a migraine follow?
Who Is J.R. Smith, Really?
On the surface, he's a 6'6", 220-pound shooting guard averaging 13.7 points and 3.0 rebounds a game for the Cavs.
His past tells a much deeper story.
One forgettable car ride, questionable trips to Las Vegas and jail time have given Smith an interesting reputation, notes Woody Paige of The Denver Post.
As his former coach George Karl, now an ESPN analyst, proclaimed via Kevin Manahan of NJ.com:
"It seems like he wants to have a little bit of an immature mockery of some of the standards. He's going to wake up someday and he's going to realize that he's thrown away some great opportunities and great years because of this mockery that he brings to the game.
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There have also been reports of Smith hitting the town before playoff games. He's been fined after run-ins with marijuana, inappropriate Twitter messages, elbowing other players and even untying their shoelaces during games.
It's safe to say Smith has become one of the more polarizing players in the NBA.
His career, though, has been far from terrible.
Following promising stints with the New Orleans Hornets and Denver Nuggets, Smith enjoyed a career year with the New York Knicks in 2012-13. After averaging 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists, Smith won the Sixth Man of the Year award.
His accomplishments extend far beyond the box score, however.
With all the stories and off-court trouble that have followed Smith, there is another side to the former high school All-American.
The first comes from his days in Denver, where Smith befriended a 12-year-old girl suffering from dysautonomia, an incurable disease resulting from the breakdown of the autonomic nervous system.
The girl, Hannah Marklin, became a big Nuggets fan while watching games from her hospital bed. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Marklin received tickets and a backstage pass, where she got to meet Smith.
Per Woody Paige of The Denver Post, Marklin said:
"I was nervous when I met J.R. I'd heard all the bad stuff about him — the accident thing (in which Smith's best friend died) and how he spent time in jail and that he was immature. I didn't think he'd be comfortable with a sick kid, and I didn't know if I would like him.
But J.R. was so cool. People don't want to touch me because they mistakenly think they'll get my disease. J.R. just reached out and hugged me. It was a very special moment.
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Smith is also a big golfer, meeting people and making new friends through the game.
Perhaps his most memorable connection is with 25-year-old Special Olympic gold medalist Brad Hennefer, which Bleacher Report documented last year.
Smith has certainly made his mistakes in the past, but he appears to be maturing now at age 29.
Why Smith Fits With Cavaliers
With all the baggage he brings, why shouldn't Smith be a concern for the Cavs?
It goes back to what Karl said would help save Smith's career: getting him out of New York and on a team with veterans who will hold him accountable for his childish behavior.
Smith enters a team with LeBron James, Shawn Marion, Mike Miller, James Jones and other quality, experienced players. All are former NBA champions who have sacrificed for the betterment of the team.
Saved from a sinking Knicks ship that is currently an NBA-worst 5-36, Smith goes from a lottery favorite to potential championship contender.
Smith can't simply coast by anymore. The Cavs need him focused and ready to do what it takes to win.
He's surrounded by players who know how to win it all and are focused on getting back to the Finals. Cleveland has a nice collection of wing players Smith will have to compete with for playing time, especially once Iman Shumpert returns from a shoulder injury.
Unlike Waiters, Smith has established who he is as a player. He's tested the free-agent waters already. Waiters had to walk a fine line between scaling back for the team and doing what was best for his future.
By now, people know what Smith brings from a skill standpoint. A potential free agent himself this summer, he must prove he can be a willing role player on a winning team once again. Smith is out of excuses to perform, and this may be his last great chance to show he still belongs.
The Cavaliers need this new, potentially mature Smith to be the consistent bench scorer Waiters never became, while avoiding any chemistry issues in the process.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report since 2010.
All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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