JR Smith regrets gambling on himself, set to take a pay cut

But there are only three teams that have the cap space to give him a raise: Trail Blazers, 76ers and Pacers.

Well, he’s a free agent, too. Cleveland has been already over the luxury tax, so whatever money they give Smith will hurt them.

The Cleveland is possibly opting to get a deal done real soon with Tristan Thompson, as the center basketballer is on a restricted free agent status and his agent is still negotiating with the Cavaliers regarding a long-term contract. The problem for Smith is no other teams are stepping up, so he lacks leverage.

“That’s always part of the gamble of opting out”, Smith told the Northeast Ohio Media Group on Monday at the Four Seasons hotel in Las Vegas.

Haywood has a contract at $10.5 million the becomes guaranteed at the end of July and that makes him a solid trade chip for the Cavs. Crawford responded to a question and implied that he was exhausted of the question and did not have any issues with the Clippers.

Williams isn’t the dogged defender Dellavedova is, but he’s a much better shooter and can more capably run the offense and creating scoring opportunities when Irving is off the floor.

When Smith turned down the option for next season, the Cavs weren’t thrilled.

“We still got to re-sign Tristan (Thompson)”.

This isn’t just James stumping for a teammate out of politeness.

Unlike a year ago, the 2015 National Basketball Association free agency period was front loaded – starting with Anthony Davis in just minutes after midnight July 1, it seemed like everyone made a quick decision.

Smith, though disruptive and generally not the kind of personality a championship-chasing team would want, actually shaped up in Cleveland.

That production, if sustainable, isn’t something the Cavs can replace on the market. Cleveland can exceed the cap to retain Smith because it has his Bird rights. But at this point, what’s another few million dollars?

The 30-year-old James led the Cavs to the National Basketball Association Finals in his first season back.

And somehow the smartest move is to keep him anyway.

Now with the National Basketball Association free agency period all but dried up, though, it’s going to be supremely hard for Smith to rake in that type of money.