J.R. Smith Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers Notes: Thompson, Sanders, J.R. Smith

March 26th, 2017 at 10:24am CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Tyronn Lue is concerned about Tristan Thompson‘s playing time, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, but the Cavaliers have few other options at center. Thompson is playing 30 minutes per night, his highest total in three years, and Lue is concerned that he might get worn down by playoff time. “We just have to try to figure out ways to get him off the floor like last night, getting his minutes down,” Lue said Saturday. “Then getting him off the floor tonight trying to do the same thing. He’s the only center we have. He has to play right now.” The Cavs thought they solved that problem when they signed Andrew Bogut last month, but a broken leg in his first game took him out of the equation.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

Free agent center Larry Sanders, who was signed as a replacement for Bogut, appears far away from being ready to help, Fedor notes in the same piece. Sanders has seen most of his action in the D-League since joining the Cavs March 13th. He has played just two minutes in two games at the NBA level. “Well, we have to try to get him in some better shape. Right now his timing and shape is not good,” Lue said. “That’s why he’s been in the D-League playing and trying to get ready. The guys in the D-League say he’s been great. He’s just trying to work and trying to get to that point.”
Lue said J.R. Smith is going through “training camp” after missing a major part of the season with a fractured right thumb, Fedor relays in a separate piece. Smith, who has shot just 31% from the field in the 10 games since his return, was moved back into the starting lineup Wednesday. “It’s like preseason for him,” Lue said. “Just trying to get these games under his belt to get his rhythm, get his timing, get his legs defensively and lock into what we’re doing. When you miss training camp early in the season and then you get hurt early in the season it’s been tough on him. He’s got to work his way through it and I know he will.”
Starting Smith has weakened the team’s defense, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic (subscription site). When Iman Shumpert or DeAndre Liggins started, they defended opposing point guards. Since the change, that task has fallen to Kyrie Irving, and the Cavs surrendered a combined 65 points to Kemba Walker and John Wall in back-to-back games.

Central Notes: Felder, James, Pistons, Williams

March 24th, 2017 at 9:49am CST by Milo Taibi

Kay Felder made an impact in his most recent D-League assignment; scoring 26 points in a match-up with the Maine Red Claws. The 5’9″ Felder raised eyebrows, however, with his decision to dunk at the conclusion of a 110-99 win, when the away team had already conceded the loss. NBA vet Jordan Mickey didn’t appreciate the gesture:

“I take pride in being a professional and not doing anything like that at the end of a game,” Mickey told Glenn Jordan of Amico Hoops. “No NBA team I know of would do that. I know the Celtics wouldn’t do it for sure and I doubt the Cavaliers would do something like that. Guys know better than to do stuff like that. It is what it is, I’ll keep that in the back of my mind if we happen to play these guys again.”

Still riding high from his 26-point showing, Felder praised the Cavs for giving him an opportunity to receive minutes with the Canton Charge.

“I think the Cavs are doing a great job of bringing me down, calling me up, letting me see what Kyrie (Irving) or LeBron (James) is doing and bringing it down here and helping these guys out as well,” Felder said. “It’s not just for me. I can also help these guys as well with what I see up there.”

J.R. Smith To Return To Cavs’ Lineup Thursday

March 9th, 2017 at 5:09pm CST by Milo Taibi

J.R. Smith, who has been sidelined since December 20 with a fractured right thumb, will return to action tonight against the Pistons. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Smith will be on an undisclosed minutes restriction (link).

Smith was listed as questionable in the days leading up to Thursday’s match-up. The 31-year-old woke up under the weather and was not at shootaround this morning, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (link). Smith, who signed a four-year, $57MM contract over the offseason, has had an abbreviated 2016/17 campaign. Through 21 games, J.R. has averaged 8.6 points while shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc.

Smith confirmed his return with a video on Uninterrupted (Twitter link).

“I am officially back. I will be playing tonight against the Detroit Pistons.” Smith said. “It’s been a good process…thankfully, it’s over. I get back to doing what I love to do more than anything. See you guys tonight at the Palace.”

Eastern Notes: Baynes, J.R. Smith, Celtics

March 8th, 2017 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Aron Baynes looked like a logical trade candidate for the Pistons prior to last month’s deadline, since he’ll likely become a free agent this summer and Detroit may not be able to re-sign him. However, as Aaron McMann of MLive.com writes, Stan Van Gundy preferred to roll the dice on retaining Baynes rather than accept a low-ball offer on the trade market.

“You couldn’t get enough of a return to make up for what we think we lose in him,” said Van Gundy, the Pistons’ president of basketball operations. “And even thought we know it’s about that-much-of-a-percentage we could have him back, we didn’t want to give up that percentage. … We have a lot of respect for him. He’s a guy that we obviously play really well with. And he’s a big part of what we’re doing now. We didn’t want to give him up.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

J.R. Smith, who hasn’t played since December due to a broken thumb, has been cleared to resume full practice, and is listed as questionable for Thursday’s game in Detroit, the Cavaliers announced today in a press release.
Although they’re still hanging on to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics have some inner turmoil to deal with after Isaiah Thomas publicly voiced his frustrations earlier this week, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Pointing to Boston’s unusually strong record in close games, head coach Brad Stevens also admitted that the C’s might not be as good as their overall record suggests. “We’ve been fortunate. We have to get better,” Stevens said. “I think that everybody talks about chasing other teams or whatever the case may be. We have a long way to be what I think is competitive at a necessary level to be really good when it’s all on the line.”
The annual list of “Luke Walton All-Stars” from ESPN’s Zach Lowe includes several role players who could be headed for lucrative paydays in free agency, including Michael Beasley (Bucks), Dion Waiters (Heat), and James Johnson (Heat).
For most of the last year, the Sixers have been viewed as a team with too many centers and no long-term solution at point guard. However, John Smallwood of The Philadelphia Daily News wonders if the club might end up entering the 2017/18 season with more certainty at point guard than center, due to T.J. McConnell‘s solid and reliable play, as well as Joel Embiid‘s ongoing health issues.

And-Ones: Officiating Changes, BIG3, D-League

March 6th, 2017 at 10:01pm CST by Milo Taibi

David Aldridge of TNT explored changes NBA referees will face in the future, as well as modifications that have already been implemented. One change that has been met with praise, Aldridge writes, is postgame feedback coaches can write regarding a referee’s performance. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called the addition “very valuable,” adding “Constant feedback in essentially real time throughout the season keeps everyone current.” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry concurred: “I have used it, and it’s good to be able to send in comments about the game so quickly.”

The league has also used four (or five) man referee crews at the D-League level, citing the benefits of “having an extra set of eyes on the floor.” Long Island Nets coach Ronald Nored was neutral toward having extra officials.

“It gave us a very open and low-pressure environment to experiment with it,” Nored said. “From a coaching standpoint, to be honest, there was nothing that stuck out in my mind where I would say it was a bad system or there was something negative.”

Knicks Notes: Jennings, Griffin, Hornacek, Porzingis

March 5th, 2017 at 10:26am CST by Arthur Hill

Brandon Jennings is still taking shots at the Knicks, even though he’s now in a Wizards uniform, relays Keely Diven of CSNMidAtlantic. After his first game for Washington on Friday, Jennings told reporters the change has been beneficial. “I’m in the same position I was in New York,” he said, “but just in a better system for me personally and with a team that actually plays together.” Jennings was never shy about criticizing the Knicks while he played there, perhaps surprised to see the inner turmoil in the organization after signing a one-year deal worth more than $4.8MM last summer. Jennings agreed to a buyout with New York and signed with the Wizards on Wednesday. He will be an unrestricted free agent again in July.

There’s more out of New York:

Cavaliers GM David Griffin said the team agreed to take J.R. Smith from the Knicks in a 2015 trade involving Iman Shumpert so it wouldn’t have to surrender a first-round pick, tweets Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Griffin recounted the deal Saturday at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Smith and Shumpert both became contributors during the Cavs’ two trips to the NBA Finals, while the Knicks received Lance Thomas, Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk and a 2019 second-rounder.
Coach Jeff Hornacek says defensive lapses, not the triangle offense, are behind the Knicks’ difficulties in closing out games, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Several players have been pointing fingers at the triangle, with Carmelo Anthony saying after Friday’s loss to the Sixers that other teams adjust during the games, but the Knicks don’t. “When we get down, especially in fourth quarters, we want to run something that’s part of a system,” Hornacek said. “The triangle aspects is one of the systems that you can run that hopefully they can’t double, hopefully they can’t switch. It at least gets you organized in a set.”
Phil Jackson’s attempts to trade Anthony and Derrick Rose before the deadline are evidence that the Knicks will eventually revolve around Kristaps Porzingis, Iannazzone writes in a separate story. He suggests that Porzingis should be made the focus of the offense now, even if it means fewer touches for Anthony.

J.R. Smith Hopeful To Return In “10 Days To Two Weeks”

March 3rd, 2017 at 6:58pm CST by Milo Taibi

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue is hopeful J.R. Smith can return from injury within two weeks, according to a report from Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. Smith recently rejoined the Cavs during their three-game road trip, albeit without the intention of making his on-court return.

“Hopefully the next 10 days to two weeks he’ll be back,” Lue told Ridenour. “They’re saying he’s been looking better and better every day, he had a good workout yesterday, so hopefully we get him back soon.”

Smith’s recovery process from a fractured thumb has been a complicated one. Following a report from Chris Haynes and Dave McMenamin of ESPN that Smith could return in mid-March, J.R. tweeted “Please don’t believe the hype. Still a ways to go.” (Twitter link)

Smith, who last made an on-court appearance on December 20, signed a four-year, $57MM contract over the offseason. Kyle Korver has performed admirably in Smith’s absence, shooting 50.4% from beyond the arc since being acquired from Atlanta.

The Cavs would obviously like to have Smith back as the postseason nears, particularly while Kevin Love recovers from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. In late February, Cavs GM David Griffin announced Smith was progressing “on schedule, maybe slightly ahead of schedule.”

Eastern Rumors: Burke, Wizards, Hawks, J.R. Smith

March 1st, 2017 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

Wizards guard Trey Burke didn’t travel with the club to Toronto due to a personal matter, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Under normal circumstances, there would be no need to read further into that news, but with Washington needing to clear a roster spot to sign Brandon Jennings, it might be safe to read between the lines, tweets J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com.

The Wizards were said to be shopping Burke prior to the deadline, and the fourth-year guard hasn’t played a major role in Washington this season, averaging a career-low 12.4 minutes per contest. Burke’s role will likely be further reduced with Jennings in the mix, and the former Michigan standout is also an expiring contract, with possible restricted free agency around the corner.

According to Haynes (via Twitter), the Wizards have yet to make a final decision on which player will be released to clear a roster spot, so it’s possible Burke will rejoin the team after its trip to Toronto. However, it looks just as likely that he has played his last game for the club. Stay tuned.

Here are a few more items of interest from around the Eastern Conference:

Speaking of Jennings, his teammate with the Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis, told reporters on Tuesday that being waived by New York was probably a good thing for Jennings. “He’s a great veteran, great guy,” Porzingis said, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “But he wasn’t, you could tell that he wasn’t himself lately so that’s probably the best thing for him. Because he loves basketball, he loves playing basketball (and) he wasn’t happy here.”
The Hawks are still considering options for their 15th roster spot, but the team expects to add a “true point guard,” according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Twitter link).
J.R. Smith, who continues to recover from a thumb fracture, has rejoined the Cavaliers, though he’s not expected to play during the club’s current three-game road trip, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald looks ahead to free agency and wonders if a reunion with Dwyane Wade would be possible for the Heat this summer, exploring whether Wade would be a better fit for the club than Dion Waiters. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel observes, the Heat will have to evaluate Waiters as they would any outside free agent, since the team won’t hold his Bird rights in the offseason and won’t necessarily have a leg up on re-signing him.

Cavaliers Notes: James, Smith, Williams

February 26th, 2017 at 3:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

LeBron James claims that he “always felt good” about the Cavaliers‘ roster this season, though he admitted that he feels better now about the team than he did in January., Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes.

“Had nothing to do about exactly the team, it was just the way we were playing,” James recently said. “I’ve always felt good about the team. Coming into the season, even in January I felt good about our team, but you know it’s just about the way we were playing. So now I feel really good about the way we’re playing right now, and coach Lue has a pretty good handle for what he would like us to do on the court.”

The 4-time MVP has been critical of the front office this season, battling with ownership over payroll concerns and demanding outside help in the form of a playmaker. Just last month, he called the roster “top heavy” and exclaimed that this year’s squad was worse than the team that won the championship last season. The team has since added Derrick Williams via 10-day deal and it plans on adding Deron Williams on Monday. LBJ appears happy with with the team’s moves.

“Listen the only thing that matters is the guys on the court and the guys who come to work every day,” James said. “The moves will be made by our GM and things of that nature. Coaching staff is ready to put the guys on the floor, so that’s my concern, that’s my mindset right now. Getting this team geared up for the postseason and we want to continue to play good ball.”

Here’s more from The Land:

Kyle Korver knows Deron Williams from their time together in Utah and he believes Williams will be a great fit for the Cavs, Vardon writes in a separate piece. “He wants to be a part of an opportunity to win a championship,” Korver said of Williams. “And just being here the whole time I’ve been here, and just seeing where there are some of the holes, or not holes, but where we can be better and knowing who he is and his skill set, I think it’s an incredible fit. He’s a guy that can play with the ball, he can play off the ball. He’s a good shooter, he’s a smart player. He can switch on defense, he’s a bigger body. I just think he’s a really good fit all around.”
The Cavs were interested in adding Williams during the 2015 offseason when the point guard agreed to a buyout with the Nets, Vardon adds in that same piece. Williams opted to join Dallas over coming to Cleveland.
While there’s no official date for J.R. Smith‘s return to the court, the team is optimistic about his recovery from a thumb injury, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays. “He seems to be doing very well. I’d say he’s on schedule, maybe slightly ahead of schedule,” GM David Griffin said.
Earlier today, we learned that Andrew Bogut is expected to join the Cavs once he reaches a buyout agreement with the Sixers.

Cavs Notes: Love, Smith, James, Williams, Lue

February 13th, 2017 at 7:32pm CST by Milo Taibi

The Cavaliers are concerned with Kevin Love‘s sore left knee and will pursue a second opinion, according to a report from Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Love, who has been ruled out of Cleveland’s match-up with the Timberwolves on Tuesday, underwent an MRI on Sunday. Love missed a pair of games on January 30 and February 1 due to a back issue, but has otherwise produced well of late- averaging 21.4 points with 11.8 rebounds over his last five games.

“Always concerned when guys are going down,” coach Tyronn Lue said of Love’s ailment. “And we’re already limited as it is. Definitely concerned, but gotta see how he feels. Just, get evaluated tomorrow and see how he feels.”