J.R. Smith received special birthday wishes from LeBron James and Kevin Love. The two want Smith back on the team badly. Will they force a resolution?
J.R. Smith just turned 31 on Friday and his teammates made sure he felt the birthday love. Pictures say a thousand words and the birthday messages on their Instagram posts prove as much.
Smith is in a contract dispute with the Cleveland Cavaliers who don’t want to tie themselves to the fan favorite for too long. For an elite perimeter threat who just helped the defending NBA champions win their first ever title as a franchise, a three-year contract would be a fair deal for both teams.
Smith covers a lot of ground for the Cavaliers on both sides of the ball. He’s able to finish off-the-dribble and above-the-rim consistently as well. Three years isn’t a length of time that will sap the Cavaliers’ financial flexibility. It won’t sap Smith of his ability to make plays either.
This is the dilemma for Smith during free agency. He knows his worth and nobody seems to remember how he was one of the most important Cavs this season. That is, nobody except his teammates. Yesterday, Smith received heartfelt birthday wishes from LeBron James and Kevin Love on Instagram.
Smith has found a true fan and friend in James who, with his words about what Smith is “all about” and getting “back to work” with Smith as his wing backcourt mate”, is trying to force the Cavaliers hand.
Smith, who was notorious for making boneheaded moves on and off-the-court, changed his act. He went from being a class clown to a humbled and mature veteran. His friendship with, and support from, James helped Smith start redefining his career.
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If the Cavaliers are low-balling Smith because of his past, James is reminding the team of Smith’s progress as a player and person. James, who greatly values loyalty and talented three-point shooters, believes Smith is the cream of the crop as both a loyal friend and a long-distance sniper.
Love chimed in on Smith’s importance to the team as well. Smith, with his swagger, humor, and on-court tenacity, was one of the emotional leaders for the team last year. To say Smith is the team’s life blood isn’t a stretch. The positive energy that he brings is vital to a team that has to battle day-in and day-out to be worthy of being an NBA champion, a process that can become stressful as losses accumulate and frustrations set in.
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The comparison of Smith to a unicorn rings true. Smith is unique as a player who, with the ultimate green light, has the authority to launch threes at will. He is unique as an elite shooter because he is just as deadly from behind the arc when shooting from off-the-dribble. Those shots are the same ones he took in New York for the Knicks, a franchise with which Smith received a Sixth Man of the Year award as well as ridicule for his shot-selection. In Cleveland, every shot Smith takes is fine and it’s a large part of the team’s ability to be dominant.
He and Love form a dangerous catch-and-shoot duo for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Without that consistent spacing, James and Irving would be less effective as slashers. His ability to convert threes at an insanely high percentage also allows the Cavaliers to stick with elite shooting teams like the Golden State Warriors.
Within the birthday wishes from Smith’s teammates there’s a nugget of truth for the Cavaliers. He’s one of the biggest reasons for the team’s success on-the-court. Off-the-court, Smith has turned his life around. If the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t show faith, confidence and loyalty in Smith, both the team and it’s fans will be disappointed.
General manager David Griffin has made underrated moves in his tenure with the Cavaliers and receiving Smith in the trade is one of them. This is only further evidence that the contract dispute with Smith needs to be resolved quickly.
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Do you believe that J.R. Smith has deserved the contract he wants? Is Smith the life-force of the team? Let us know in the comments section and follow @KJG_NBA and @30for30Albertie on Twitter.