JR Smith Reportedly Won't Be Bought Out by Cavaliers After Trade Deadline
Despite failing to move him before Thursday's trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers won't buy veteran swingman JR Smith out of his contract, according to the Akron Beacon Journal's Marla Ridenour.
Smith hasn't played for the Cavs since their 113-102 defeat to the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 19.
ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski reported in October that Smith had grown upset after being told the Cavs planned on giving him a smaller role in their rotation. A month later, the two parties separated to potentially facilitate his outright departure.
The Cavaliers have an incentive to keep Smith until the offseason, though.
He's due to make a little under $15.7 million in 2019-20, though only $3.8 million of that is guaranteed. A team looking to shed money could package an expensive fully guaranteed deal along with a more valuable asset to take on Smith before releasing him and freeing up salary cap space.
In the meantime, Cleveland doesn't have a compelling reason to bring Smith back into the fold over the remainder of the year. Any franchise that would acquire him would probably be doing so solely for financial reasons, and his performance—be it good or bad—won't change that calculus.
If anything, Smith might want to mend fences with the Cavs in order to help make himself a more enticing free-agent target in the summer.
