As the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to try to establish a clear vision and identity in the post-LeBron James era, they have not exactly been idle this offseason.
According to Cleveland.com, the team has been looking to trade J.R. Smith, the 33-year-old veteran shooting guard who is one of the last remaining links to the 2016 squad that won the city’s one and only world championship.
One of the deals the Cavaliers proposed was sending Smith to the Golden State Warriors for another grizzled swingman, Andre Iguodala.
With the Warriors’ championship reign having been prematurely torpedoed by the Achilles injury to Kevin Durant and his subsequent departure to the Brooklyn Nets, they have been aggressively reloading this summer by trading for emerging guard D’Angelo Russell and signing free agent center Willie Cauley-Stein.
Smith could’ve given them some scoring punch off the bench, especially with Klay Thompson expected to be sidelined for most of next season with a torn ACL.
But the Cavaliers and Warriors couldn’t reach an agreement, and instead, Iguodala was sent packing to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Cleveland has been talking to other teams about a Smith trade as well.
Once a viable streak shooter for the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Cavaliers, he had a rough season in 2018-19, averaging only 6.7 points per game on 34.2 percent shooting, both career-lows. He also played a mere 11 games this past season, as he requested a trade in late November, citing his dismay at his drastically reduced playing time and responsibilities.
