Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith hasn’t played in an NBA game for nearly a year, and according to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, he may not get another chance.
In an exclusive interview with CavaliersNation.com, Vardon spoke about the likelihood of Smith getting signed by a team this season.
Based on Vardon’s understanding of the situation, the prognosis is not good.
“I don’t think so,” Vardon answered when asked if Smith will have a job in this league again. “I guess we’ll find out here in a couple weeks. We’ll see how the first couple weeks of the year go. But it doesn’t seem like it. He hasn’t played basketball since November, early November.
“Obviously there wasn’t a giant market for him last year. Now he’s a free agent. You don’t have to give up anything to have him, and nobody’s making a move. I don’t like it. I don’t like the prognosis for him. If Carmelo [Anthony] can’t get a job, it’s gonna be difficult be for J.R. to be able get one. We’ll see.”
Originally, the Cavs were hoping that they’d be able to trade Smith and his expiring contract for future assets. When no teams came biting, the Cavs decided to release Smith this offseason.
There were then rumblings that some teams looking for a veteran sharpshooter were interested in his services, but nothing materialized.
Now, with the 2019-20 season officially underway, the chances that Smith actually ends up getting signed seem to be dwindling. That could certainly all change should a valuable role player on a contending team go down with an injury.
Until that happens, however, it’s likely Smith will be relegated to shooting in the gym rather than shooting in an NBA arena.
