I view all off or the majority of you guys just wanting JR Smith to go away for nothing. That is this forum's problem of should I say the majority of the posters. Just begone thats what you say. Well I will always believe JR Smith had talent and he was worth a 1 st round pick if we sent him packing.

by Trisity Miller 17h ago

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Stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reportedly urged the Cavaliers front office to trade for J.R. Smith.

Here’s a surprise: the Cleveland Cavaliers were on the fence about acquiring then-New York Knicks J.R. Smith because of his past run-ins with the law.

Fortunately for Smith, he had a few pals willing to pull for him inside the Cavaliers organization as Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer reports. Stars Kyrie Irving and LeBron James urged David Griffin, general manager of the Cavaliers, and company to trade for former Sixth Man of the Year, leading to the acquisition of both Smith and Iman Shumpert.

From Cleveland.com:

Smith has had some legal problems off the court. Before the deal was made, the front office talked to Irving and James, two players who know him. Both urged the team to make the trade.

Not wanting to trade for J.R. Smith isn’t anything that’d cause a ruckus from any fan base or front office. While he is a talented wing, he’s brought as much bad to teams as he has good, with his defense, willingness to chuck shots from the perimeter and immaturity (elbowing Jason Terry in the playoffs, forcing a suspension comes to mind) have hindered his teams.
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But for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the gamble looks like it’s starting to pay off.

In the 9 games Smith has played with the franchise, J.R. is averaging 15.3 points on 45 percent shooting (39 percent from three), 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. And in the six games since James has returned from a knee and back injury, the Cavaliers are 5-1, playing their best basketball of the season, with Smith playing a vital part in those games.

What the Cavaliers did was trade a chucker for a chucker who knows what he’s capable of as a player. With Dion Waiters, there was an unwillingness to play within the role asked of him by head coach David Blatt, assuming he’s just as important to the franchise as LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were (hint: he wasn’t). While Smith can be as big a wildcard as Waiters, Smith has proven to be a better shooter than Waiters, as well as a better defender and playmaker (even if it’s comparing not good to very bad).

These traits are playing big in the Cavaliers finding themselves as a franchise and if Smith can continue to excel in an eventual sixth man role, the gamble to pursue Smith by Irving and James will be well worth it.

fitzfarm wrote:Jr is a known cancer nut ball.. Shump is a known cry baby ...we can thank the ny media for driving his value down so low...

and now we are sucking out the lasts remnannts of lil tim

fitzfarm wrote:That said jr wasn't even playing in Denver for a reason and he played like crap in NYC for the last two years.. Jr is as soft as they come he's the definition of streaky ... He'll fall apart in the playoffs and it will effect the whole team ... Cleveland will be begging for a team to take jr off there hands come the off season

Cleveland doesn't need JR. to be the second option..He will be their 4 option that can take over games in stretches..Our expectations of JR increase because of Amare's injury..JR isn't paid to be the 2nd option..

Papabear wrote:

fitzfarm wrote:Jr is a known cancer nut ball.. Shump is a known cry baby ...we can thank the ny media for driving his value down so low...

Papabear Says

Well he damn sure is doing a great job for Cleveland. He should not have given him away. Now some of you guys are ready to give more players away for nothing.

Papabear wrote:

H1AND1 wrote:The point isn't that Lebron and the Cavs wanted JR so badly that we couldve gotten more from them. It's that they wanted him so badly and also knew that not one other team in the league would've given up anything of substance for him in a deal (NY would have to add the asset for another team to assume the contract).

And so the Cavs simply benefitted by going after a guy that they knew could be had + extras. It doesn't prove other teams wouldve given up anything for him. The Cavs were lucky they wanted a guy who they were in a position to get plus sweeteners so long as they took the negotiating stance that every other NBA team was taking (ie: Well take JR but it'll cost you +1 aka Shump, a pick, etc).

If some other GM was offering anything of substance for JR we don't think the Knicks would've jumped on the deal in a hot second? This situation was nothing compared to the Mozgoz deal. Plenty of other teams would've traded actual assets for Mozgoz. Cleveland overpaid for him to outbid everyone else because they are in win now mode and were afraid they'd lose out. The two deals have no relation to each other.

Papabear Says

Then we should have waited. Someone would have broken down.

In retrospect..Cleveland would have paid a fortune for Tyson Chandler..

Papabear wrote:

holfresh wrote:

Papabear wrote:

H1AND1 wrote:The point isn't that Lebron and the Cavs wanted JR so badly that we couldve gotten more from them. It's that they wanted him so badly and also knew that not one other team in the league would've given up anything of substance for him in a deal (NY would have to add the asset for another team to assume the contract).

And so the Cavs simply benefitted by going after a guy that they knew could be had + extras. It doesn't prove other teams wouldve given up anything for him. The Cavs were lucky they wanted a guy who they were in a position to get plus sweeteners so long as they took the negotiating stance that every other NBA team was taking (ie: Well take JR but it'll cost you +1 aka Shump, a pick, etc).

If some other GM was offering anything of substance for JR we don't think the Knicks would've jumped on the deal in a hot second? This situation was nothing compared to the Mozgoz deal. Plenty of other teams would've traded actual assets for Mozgoz. Cleveland overpaid for him to outbid everyone else because they are in win now mode and were afraid they'd lose out. The two deals have no relation to each other.

Papabear Says

Then we should have waited. Someone would have broken down.

In retrospect..Cleveland would have paid a fortune for Tyson Chandler..

Papabear Says

I agree! That Tyson Chandler deal was a bad one. I'm watching Cleveland and now with JR Smith and Shump which we get nothing for will probably win a ring before the Knicks. And as you know when we get rid of players they seem to get better. JR is kicking butt.

Iman and jr are nothing to get upset about there low iq me first players.. Not worthy of triangle play. No other team could have gotten more value for them, we are super lucky to get rid of them esp jrs contract

fitzfarm wrote:That said jr wasn't even playing in Denver for a reason and he played like crap in NYC for the last two years.. Jr is as soft as they come he's the definition of streaky ... He'll fall apart in the playoffs and it will effect the whole team ... Cleveland will be begging for a team to take jr off there hands come the off season

JR won the 6th man of the year two years ago and was arguably more clutch than Melo that year. JR wont get the opportunity to fall apart in the playoffs because his team wont need him to score 20 plus in order to win.....He'll be an opportunist playing off Lebron and Kyrie...I haven't noticed many of his one-on-one over dribbling, then hoist a fall away jumper in Cleve. The reason being, he has essentially 2 pg's who create shots for him while he's catching and shooting. JR is a lethal catch and shoot player, unfortunately for him and the Knicks, he didn't have a teammate that could break down the defense off the dribble, drive and kick it out to him on a reg bases.