The Cleveland Cavaliers are forcing JR Smith to play the waiting game. After getting traded mid-season from the New York Knicks, the shooting guard proved to be valuable to the Cavaliers especially during the postseason. That caused him to opt out of his player option in order to seek a raise, but Cleveland is not ready to hand him a new deal as they work out contract talks with Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova. Will Smith be returning to Cleveland or finding a new home?
Both LeBron James and general manager David Griffin have stated they hope to bring back Smith, but it could hinge on a few things. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Cavaliers are first seeking to finalize a trade involving Brendan Haywood and Jamal Crawford. That would first relieve salary cap space, but also give them quality shooting off the bench. Stein reports that if the Crawford trade is complete, Smith will not be returning to Cleveland. While the shooting guard upped his value last season, he still struggles with consistency and shot quality. Crawford could be viewed as the better option.
The Cavaliers are also trying to re-sign a player that upped his value at the end of last year. According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, the Cavaliers and Dellavedova are very far apart on contract talks. The backup point guard wants a multi-year contract worth $4 million per season and the Cavaliers simply cannot afford that. The team is dried up at the moment thanks to contracts for Iman Shumpert and Kevin Love along with the max deal Tristan Thompson is demanding. Dellavedova is a restricted agent with a qualifying offer worth just one a million for next season.
If the Cavaliers fail to get a deal done soon for Dellavedova, there could be some interest on him. He proved to be a quality reserve while also seeing a lot of starting time when Kyrie Irving got hurt. There are plenty of teams looking for depth at the position as only starters seem to be available. Cleveland can still match any offer placed on him.
The Cavaliers still have a lot of work to get done this offseason. They are still trying to re-sign Thompson who is a restricted free agent. Those talks are back and forth. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that while Thompson is expected to return, a new deal might not come for a while.