J.R. Smith may have to accept what the Cleveland Cavaliers are offering him now if he wants to come back to the team. If the team wants to maintain it’s team-building integrity, Smith can’t be given the contract that he wants.
It’s been reported that Cleveland Cavaliers free agent shooting guard J.R. Smith is looking for a long-term contract that would pay him $15 million annually. The sides don’t seem to be far apart on the money, however, Cleveland is unwilling to give Smith a long-term deal.
It’s not likely that the Cleveland Cavaliers would have offered Smith an insulting deal, otherwise he’d likely have bolted like Dwyane Wade jettisoned himself from South Beach after Pat Riley’s “business” decision. Smith is like being offered a contract between $13-$15 million with a length of two years. There’s one very big and specific reason to believe the Cavs aren’t going to offer Smith a three-year deal, the summer of 2018. In summer of 2018, three matters will effect Smith’s current contract disputes.
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The first matter that effects Smith’s contract is that, despite the increase in cap space that occurred this season and the increase that’s expected for the 2017-2018 season, the salary cap will drop for the 2018-2019 season. With that drop, paying Smith a salary that puts him just behind Tristan Thompson‘s $17 million figure seems to be a steep price for a shooting guard as mercurial as Smith.
The second matter involves a move that LeBron James may not have predicted would effect Smith’s contract. In the summer of 2018, James will also be approaching the last year of his new three-year contract. James will likely receive yet another raise at 34 if he remains as dominant as he is today. The next summer, James cap figure is set a $54 million. He’ll look to collect every bit of that he can.
The last matter that effects Smith’s contract status is that, in that summer of 2018, max-contract free agents such as Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, DeMarcus Cousins, Gordon Hayward, and Danillo Gallinari become available. A blockbuster trade in which the Cleveland Cavaliers send one of their best players to a team with significant cap space would be necessary for the Cavs to sign a max-contract free agent. However, players like Durant and Cousins are too good to pass up, and the necessary transactions needed free up their cap space will be made. With James at the end of his career, the Cleveland Cavaliers will need a duo who sustain the team’s winning culture.
Those three reasons, a shrinking salary cap, James’ last year of his new contract, and high-profile max-contract free agents, will force Smith to have to take a two-year deal or leave. Smith, who has changed his image from bad boy to family man, wants stability for his wife and daughter. The Cavs may not be able to offer him that. It’s an unfortunate situation for the fan favorite Smith. In a “what have you done for me lately” league, Smith’s contract is more effected by the future and the past than the present.
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Do you think J.R. Smith could sign elsewhere, or will the Cavs have to give in, or will Smith have to give in? Let us know what you think in the comments section or follow us on Twitter @KJG_NBA.