J.R. Smith Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Caldwell-Pope, Bullock, Smith

September 24th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons will continue to purse rookie contract extensions with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock until the October 31st deadline, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. A full-time starter in Detroit for the past two seasons, Caldwell-Pope appeared in 76 games last year, averaging 14.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per night. Bullock played 37 games, averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds. The Pistons are over the salary cap, but Beard reports that the team is willing to use its Bird rights to re-sign both players. “We’re all in agreement it’s an atmosphere and environment where they have good thoughts,” GM Jeff Bower said of negotiations. “We’re going to continue to take those talks a little bit further through the month and see if there’s an opportunity to reach an extension now.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

As the longest-tenured player on the roster and with a max contract now in hand, Pistons center Andre Drummond feels like he’s entering a new chapter of his career, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. The 23-year-old has witnessed a lot of turnover in Detroit since he arrived four years ago. He has played for four coaches in that time, but with Stan Van Gundy firmly in place, the Pistons seem ready to commit to their current core. Drummond is happy to be a part of that group. “I signed a five-year deal, so I’m here for the long haul and I’m excited to be here,” he said. “Detroit is now my home and I’m ready to embrace it and try to bring great things to this city.”
The Cavaliers are counting on 33-year-old Mo Williams and second-round pick Kay Felder to replace Matthew Dellavedova, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. In his “Summer Rewind” on Cleveland, Marks says the Cavs made a wise move by orchestrating a sign-and-trade after Dellavedova committed to the Bucks, creating a $4.8MM trade exception in the process.
Unsigned shooting guard J.R. Smith traveled to Cleveland to watch an Indians game on Thursday and posted “#meetings” on his Instagram account, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. While it’s not a sure sign of progress, Vardon speculated that there has been communication between Smith and the team.
A rumor that Smith has been negotiating with the Sixers is not true, tweets Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com.

Central Notes: J.R. Smith, Brooks, Pistons

September 22nd, 2016 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers‘ mini-camp has gotten underway in California, with coaches and players in attendance, but one member of last year’s championship roster is noticeably absent, as Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com details. Head coach Tyronn Lue tells Vardon that the team misses J.R. Smith, who remains unsigned.

“I mean, you can feel it,” Lue said. “J.R., he’s the heart and soul of [the Cavaliers]. Usually when it’s anything involving the team, J.R. would be there and would be right in the middle of it. You’d hear him laughing or if it’s work, he’d be out there giving it his all. It’s hard.”

As we heard earlier this week, Smith isn’t in California with the rest of the Cavaliers, since contract talks between the two sides remain at an impasse. According to Vardon, it seems unlikely that Smith and the Cavs will reach a deal by the time the team meets the media on Monday for the start of training camp.

Here’s more from across the Central division:

Explaining why he chose to sign with the Pacers in free agency, Aaron Brooks suggests to Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star that he thinks the team’s roster is “loaded,” and that at this stage in his career he wants to play on “a team that’s winning games.” Brooks also knows his role in Indiana and believes he’ll be a an ideal fit off the bench behind starting point guard Jeff Teague.
As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes, 14 of the Pistons‘ 15 regular-season roster spots appear set, with just one up for grabs. That last opening figures to come down to Ray McCallum vs. Lorenzo Brown for the No. 3 point guard job. Langlois speaks to both players about the possible opportunity ahead of them as they compete for that roster spot.
In a separate piece for Pistons.com, Langlois fields Pistons-related questions from readers, discussing a possible extension for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, why Detroit chose Ish Smith as its backup point guard, and how the team’s roster might change over the next 12 months.

Talks Between Cavs, J.R. Smith Remain At Impasse

September 19th, 2016 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

J.R. Smith won’t attend the Cavaliers’ minicamp in California this week, since he and the team remain at an impasse in contract talks, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Sources tell Windhorst that no recent progress has been made in contract discussions between the two sides.

Training camp won’t officially get underway for the Cavaliers until next week, but players and coaches are meeting in Santa Barbara this week for workouts. While Smith and the Cavs would both like to get something done within the next several days to ensure that the veteran guard is in attendance when training camp begins, Smith will likely be willing to miss part of camp if necessary, says Windhorst.

According to Windhorst, Smith is seeking a multiyear deal, which doesn’t come as a surprise. Last summer, the 31-year-old inked a two-year contract with a player option for year two, which he declined. This time around, he’s probably looking for a three- or four-year pact. Reports have indicated that Smith’s initial asking price was in the $15MM-per-year range, with the Cavs preferring something in the $10-12MM neighborhood. Last week, the former first-round pick suggested that he didn’t want to feel like he was “taking advantage” of the team in negotiations.

“Obviously we’re not where we want to be at from a personal standpoint,” Smith said. “But it’s more than just numbers. I don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage of the Cavs for everything they’ve done for me, and I don’t want them to feel like I’m taking advantage of them. It’s more of a mutual respect thing.

Smith, who turned 31 this month, started a career-high 77 games for the Cavs during the 2015/16 season, and also started all 21 of the team’s playoff games. During the season, he averaged 12.4 PPG and shot 40.0% from long distance, making 2.6 threes per game. He increased those three-point numbers to 43.0% and 3.1 per game during the postseason.

J.R. Smith Discusses Free Agency, Cavs

September 16th, 2016 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been about two and a half months since J.R. Smith officially became a free agent, and the veteran shooting guard still doesn’t have a contract for the 2016/17 season. While Smith is expected to re-sign with the Cavaliers eventually, the two sides have yet to strike a deal with training camp right around the corner.

In a conversation with Adam Caparell of Complex Sports, Smith said that he hopes to sign a new contract with the Cavs “soon,” but admitted that even after seeing all the money thrown around in free agency earlier this summer, he doesn’t want to feel like he’s “taking advantage” of the team.

“Obviously we’re not where we want to be at from a personal standpoint,” Smith said. “But it’s more than just numbers. I don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage of the Cavs for everything they’ve done for me, and I don’t want them to feel like I’m taking advantage of them. It’s more of a mutual respect thing.”

We’ve heard throughout the offseason that Smith has been seeking a deal in the range of $15MM annually, while the Cavs’ offer is closer to $10-12MM per year. The gap is small enough that the Cavs and Smith should reach a compromise at some point, particularly since it’s a good fit for both sides — there are no other realistic suitors out there for Smith at his asking price at this point, and the Cavs won’t want to lose another key rotation player from their championship roster after seeing Matthew Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov walk in free agency.

Smith, who turned 31 last Friday, started a career-high 77 games for the Cavs during the 2015/16 season, and also started all 21 of the team’s playoff games. During the season, he averaged 12.4 PPG and shot 40.0% from long distance, making 2.6 threes per game. He increased those three-point numbers to 43.0% and 3.1 per game during the postseason.

Central Notes: Cavaliers, Smith, Pistons, Allen

September 10th, 2016 at 5:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers are looking at a reduction in their luxury tax of about 35%, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Cleveland’s luxury-tax payment last season was a hefty $54MM, a figure that was $34MM more than the next-highest team. Even factoring in LeBron James‘ league-high $31MM salary for the upcoming season and the expected re-signing of free agent J.R. Smith, the Cavs are looking at a luxury tax payment closer to $35MM.

Much of the drop corresponds to the huge rise in the salary cap for 2016/17, with an accompanying increase in the luxury-tax threshold to $113.3MM. The threshold was just $84.7MM last season, and the Cavs were joined by the Clippers, Warriors and Thunder with luxury-tax payments topping $14.5MM. Between salary and taxes, Cleveland spent about $160MM to secure its first-ever NBA championship.

There’s more news from the Central Division:

In a summer where virtually every big-name unrestricted free agent cashed in, the Cavaliers‘ Smith remains an exception. Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders examines why there has been so little interest in the veteran shooting guard and whether his return to Cleveland is inevitable.
The battle between Lorenzo Brown and Ray McCallum to become the Pistons‘ third-string point guard will be among the highlights of camp, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Brown, who joined the team in April, is the favorite because of an impressive summer league performance and his 6’5″ size, Langlois states. But McCallum, who signed a one-year deal with Detroit in July, is expected to put up a fight. Other camp storylines will include fitting new additions Ish Smith and Jon Leuer into the bench unit, developing new leaders after the departure of Anthony Tolliver, Joel Anthony and Steve Blake, and determining how soon second-round pick Michael Gbinije will be ready for the NBA.
Lavoy Allen has beaten the odds by carving out a career as a late second-round pick, writes Jake Rauchbach of Basketball Insiders. After being selected 50th overall by the Sixers in 2011, the 6’9″ power forward/center has become a rotation player, first in Philadelphia and now in Indiana. Allen will make $4MM this season, and the Pacers have a team option for $4.3MM in 2017/18.

Latest On J.R. Smith, Cavaliers

August 31st, 2016 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

When the calendar turns from August to September tonight, J.R. Smith will have officially been on the free agent market for two months. Smith is the highest-profile player still available, having started nearly 100 total games (regular season and playoffs) for the eventual champs last season, so it’s worth checking in on him to see where things stand at the two-month mark.

While one report from mid-July suggested that Smith was seeking a $15MM annual salary, the Cavaliers’ offer doesn’t appear to be in that range, which is understandable. There probably aren’t any other teams in the NBA with the cap space and the willingness to go that high for Smith. Plus, the Cavs are already in luxury-tax territory and would have to go way beyond the tax threshold to complete such a deal, making the cost to the franchise much more expensive than just $15MM.

Still, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the Cavs have put an offer on the table believed to be worth in the range of $10-12MM annually. As Kyler adds in a second tweet, the two sides aren’t all that far apart, and are still expected to eventually reach an agreement — it’s simply a matter of finding a compromise on dollars and years.

Since Smith isn’t missing out on any pay checks at the moment and the Cavs likely won’t find a viable alternative to him at this point in the offseason, there isn’t much urgency yet for either the team or player to get something done. However, that could change in the coming weeks, with training camp and the preseason right around the corner, so it will be a situation worth watching in September.

In 2015/16, Smith averaged 11.5 PPG and shot 43.0% on three-pointers in the postseason after having averaged 12.4 PPG with a .400 3PT% during the regular season. The veteran shooting guard, who turns 31 next Friday, started 77 regular-season games for Cleveland, as well as all 21 of the team’s postseason contests.

Central Notes: Smith, Terry, Novak, Pistons

August 19th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Money is the only sticking point in negotiations between J.R. Smith and the Cavaliers, writes Sam Amico of Amicohoops.net. Smith wants to stay in Cleveland where he is comfortable with coach Tyronn Lue and was an important contributor to the Cavs’ championship run. The organization is happy with Smith’s clutch shooting and improved defense. However, the two sides appear to be far apart on salary, and it’s not certain that the situation will be resolved before the Cavaliers open training camp September 26th. Smith, who turns 31 next month, made $5MM last season. He has reportedly seen his bargaining power weakened by a lack of interest from other teams.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Bucks are looking for leadership by adding veterans Jason Terry and Steve Novak to the league’s youngest roster, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Terry, 38, confirmed today that he will sign with Milwaukee, and Novak, 33, is expected to re-sign soon after spending the end of last season with the Bucks.
The Pistons expect to have about $5MM in cap room next summer, but several decisions could push that number higher or lower, states Aaron McMann of MLive. The $5MM figure assumes that Detroit picks up the options on Stanley Johnson and Darrun Hilliard and that Aron Baynes opts out of the final year of his deal. However, the Pistons still need to find a third point guard and make a decision on whether to re-sign Reggie Bullock, who will be a free agent after next season.
The fear of losing Baynes next summer prompted the Pistons to target Boban Marjanovic, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Detroit offered Marjanovic an offer sheet worth $21MM over three years, and the Spurs, who didn’t have his Bird rights, declined to match. Marjanovic has limited NBA experience, and coach/executive Stan Van Gundy credits extensive scouting work for enabling the Pistons to identify him as a worthwhile prospect.

Eastern Notes: Udrih, J.R. Smith, Sixers, Butler

August 19th, 2016 at 9:02am CST by Dana Gauruder

Beno Udrih has no assurances of playing time despite re-signing with the Heat, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Udrih gives the club a natural point guard behind starter Goran Dragic, but combo guards Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson will also see action at that position, Jackson continues. Udrih signed a one-year guaranteed deal at the veteran’s minimum of $1.4MM. Udrih had a standing offer from the Heat for more than a month, sources told Jackson, and turned down some other options because of his comfort level with the organization.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Free agent J.R. Smith doesn’t appear to be close to signing a contract, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Cavs’ shooting guard is deferring all questions about his free agency to agent Rich Paul. Smith is expected to rejoin Cleveland and is believed to be seeking a multi-year deal worth approximately $15MM per season, Fedor continues. There’s been little interest from other teams because of Smith’s past antics, Fedor adds.
The Sixers will play three nationally televised games, and coach Brett Brown believes that’s a sign of progress, Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com reports. Philadelphia hasn’t had a game broadcast nationally since the 2012/13 season. “It’s really I think a statement to the way the public views our young, exciting team,” Brown said in a podcast on the team’s website.
Caron Butler would be interested in signing with the Knicks, tweets Anthony Donahue of SNY. During an appearance on Donahue’s “33rd and 7th” podcast, Butler said he likes the moves that New York made during the offseason. Butler, 36, spent last season with the Kings and appeared in just 17 games.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Kyler’s Latest: Kings, Gay, Koufos, Cavs, Smith

August 10th, 2016 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the majority of teams’ offseason roster work has been completed by now, there are still clubs around the NBA that are exploring the free agent and trade markets in an effort to upgrade their squads. Steve Kyler’s latest piece for Basketball Insiders focuses on two teams whose summer work may not be quite done yet. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

The Kings have been active in exploring the trade market as they attempt to move players who may not be fit into the plan going forward, per Kyler. Rudy Gay has long been available, but despite receiving several inquires on the veteran forward – most notably from the Rockets, says Kyler – Sacramento has been having a hard time finding anything of real value in a trade. There’s a belief among some sources that the Kings won’t ask for a whole lot for Gay, and could move him before training camp, according to Kyler.
Kyler adds that the Kings are also believed to be looking into possible deals involving center Kosta Koufos, who signed with the team a year ago. Sacramento used several draft picks on frontcourt players, and wouldn’t mind turning Koufos into another piece, such as a backup point guard.
J.R. Smith remains a free agent, and while his return to Cleveland isn’t a lock like it is for LeBron James, there’s still a belief on both sides that Smith and the Cavaliers will eventually reach an agreement. According to Kyler, there’s a belief that Cleveland put an offer in the $10MM-per-year range on the table a few weeks ago — Smith and his camp are waiting to see if a bigger offer comes in, but will likely end up getting something done with the Cavs.
Cavaliers sources have pointed out to Kyler that if and when James and Smith sign new deals, the club figures to be in luxury-tax territory. That would make trades a little trickier to complete, so the Cavs may simply be exploring all their options on that front before locking in new contracts for James and Smith.

Community Shootaround: J.R. Smith

July 28th, 2016 at 12:14pm CST by Luke Adams

In a recent Community Shootaround discussion, we asked which free agent – besides LeBron James – represented the best option still available on the open market. Those of you who responded gave plenty of support to J.R. Smith over other options like Dion Waiters and Maurice Harkless, who have since signed deals, and guys like Lance Stephenson and Donatas Motiejunas, who remain unsigned.

While most observers believe that Smith will eventually re-sign with the Cavaliers, that’s not necessarily a given. We’ve certainly seen plenty of surprising free agent departures this month, and one report from mid-July suggested that Smith was seeking a $15MM annual salary — assuming the Cavs lock up LeBron James for a max or near-max deal, a $15MM salary for Smith would put the team way over the tax line once again, even after this year’s huge salary cap leap.

Meanwhile, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders detailed on Wednesday, the 76ers, Nuggets, and Nets all have over $18MM in cap room, while teams like the Thunder, Lakers, Timberwolves, Suns, and Jazz are all above $12.5MM. Not all of those clubs have a need for a player like Smith, and he may not be interested in a few of them, but perhaps there’s a fit somewhere in that list of eight teams — or with another club for a more modest price.

The Cavaliers are limited in what they can offer outside free agents, making Smith a logical fit, since the team can go over the cap to sign him. But how high should the Cavs be willing to go? And how long should they be willing to wait for Smith to compromise on his asking price? Do you see a more ideal fit for Smith with another team?

Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on Smith. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.