J.R. Smith’s Return and the Domino Effect
J.R. Smith is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. At least his Instagram account, and a follow up tweet from LeBron James, seem to confirm that, as we reported on last night. Smith was a surprising big piece of the Cavs late season dominance but fell apart as the NBA Playoffs went on, especially in the Finals.
Smith’s decision making has always been questionable. With LeBron, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, along with a host of veterans, he kept it in check most of the season. In the Playoffs he punched a player, getting suspended, took ill advised shots and committed some very dumb fouls.
His worst decision, along with whoever is advising him, may have come after the season when he opted out of a $6.4 million player option. He thought his solid season with the Cavs would get some team to pony up some bigger, longer term money. When he couldn’t find that, and the Cavs still showed interest, he has returned for around $5 million this season and a player option for about the same amount next year.
Now that JR is back it is interesting to look at how the dominos will fall for the Cavs.
Mo Williams was brought in as a free agent and takes over Smith’s role as the first guard likely off the bench. Williams is a better ball handler and a little more stable in producing. Mo is a worse defender but the Cavs have some good to great defenders littered around their roster.
That means Smith takes over as the Cavs second guard off the bench from Matthew Dellavedova. Delly is still the Cavs best bench defender but the Regular Season and the NBA Finals showed that the Aussie is best in a limited role. Bumping Delly down to the Cavs third bench guard, after starting the Finals in place of the injured Irving, shows you just how much better the Cavs will be next year.
Smith also pushes another domino for the Cavs. Though he lacks ideal size, JR can slide in at the small forward spot when the Cavs go small. Last year, James Jones would often take on the role as the backup small forward, with Shawn Marion being a total shell of himself. Now, not only do the Cavs have Richard Jefferson, who we hope ages better than Marion, but the flexibility to give JR some minutes at the 3 given the addition of Mo Williams as the primary backup guard.
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Looking at the team that took the floor for the NBA Finals, the domino reaction is amazing. Irving’s return, along with Mo and JR, pushes Delly down to third guard off the bench. Starting point guard to 8th man. Jefferson’s addition, along with more flexibility with JR, gives the Cavs some depth behind LeBron. Love’s return pushes Tristan Thompson (when he signs) to the bench where he takes over as the primary bench big from James Jones.
Anderson Varejao is likely to return this year but returns from Achilles injuries are always hit or miss. If he is able to play, Andy takes Kendrick Perkins limited minutes. The Cavs are still looking at bringing in Sasha Kaun, an article for later today, who would replace Brendan Haywood as the Cavs 5th big.
Even if the Cavs don’t add another talented player with their two Traded Player Exceptions, the team has greatly upgraded. The falling dominos show a big upgrade from last season, especially over that injury ravaged Finals team.
How big do you think the J.R. Smith return is for the Cavs?