- Report: Cavs thought Kevin Love was ‘too slow’ and ‘too much of a liability on defense’ before he went to Heat
- Report: Chauncey Billups was fine leading Cavs without LeBron James because he and Tyronn Lue wanted to win from scratch
- Donovan Mitchell praises ‘jumping’ Madison Square Garden atmosphere during Cavs-Knicks playoff series
- Richard Jefferson says he’s only mean to former Cavs teammates after destroying Tristan Thompson on ESPN
- Donovan Mitchell says he should’ve made All-NBA First Team: ‘I don’t know what the standard is’
- Brian Windhorst thinks Cavs and Suns will be targeting a lot of the same free agents next couple years
- Report: Cavs to host Magic for preseason game in October
- Donovan Mitchell unfollows Ja Morant on Twitter amid Grizzlies guard’s troubling antics
- Cavs guard Ricky Rubio considering return to Europe in future
- Channing Frye recalls similar play to Derrick White’s game-winner vs. Miami Heat that ‘hurt’
J.R. Smith Addresses Whether or Not He’s Retired From NBA
- Updated: October 7, 2019
The NBA career of former Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith remains at a standstill with training camps now in full swing.
After being asked on social media whether or not he was now retired, the veteran shooting guard responded that he is simply waiting for a team to call for his services.
The 34-year-old Smith has played 15 seasons in the NBA for four different teams. He was acquired by the Cavaliers in January 2015 and was part of the team’s four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals. Most notably, he was with it when it captured the franchise’s only league title in 2016.
Last November, the start of a rebuilding campaign by the Cavaliers resulted in Smith questioning the motives of team management. This came in the form of his public criticism of what he perceived as tanking in order to collect a high draft pick, which came to pass when the team finished with a 19-63 record.
It was soon after Smith’s comments that the Cavaliers exiled him as a player who would no longer be with the team. Efforts to trade him away came up short, with the team ultimately cutting ties with him in July.
Despite his current status, no teams have contacted him about signing with them. His bumpy exit from the Cavaliers, coupled with past off-the-court issues and his statistical declines in recent years, could be the reason for that inactivity.
Should Smith find a team that wants to sign him, he’s likely to only be offered a veteran’s minimum salary. At that point, he’ll have to make a decision whether he should continue to play or call it a career.
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