Within minutes after the Cleveland Cavaliers had announced the signing of point guard Toney Douglas, the still-unsigned J.R. Smith offered a seemingly cryptic shot via Twitter at the Cavaliers’ front office over his contract status.
The brief tweet appeared to jab the team for not addressing his situation, which is now in its fourth month:
#Cavs have signed free agent guard Toney Douglas, per team.
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) October 3, 2016
…
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) October 3, 2016
Smith has been looking for a multi-year deal that will pay him $15 million a year, while the Cavs have been offering only $10 to $11 million per season. The team’s reason is based on the luxury tax penalty they’ll incur from paying that much. That price is estimated to be approximately $20 million dollars.
The Cavaliers get their preseason schedule started on Wednesday, with their regular season scheduled to open up on October 25 at home against the New York Knicks. Prior to that game, the team will receive its championship rings, with the hope being that Smith will be in uniform to get his reward.
