King James Gospel
Fansided

10 Off-season moves the Cleveland Cavaliers must make if LeBron James leaves

By Tony Pesta

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images /
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BOSTON, MA – MAY 13: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts from the bench late in the fourth quarter in his teams loss to the Boston Celtics in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden on May 13, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-83. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MAY 13: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts from the bench late in the fourth quarter in his teams loss to the Boston Celtics in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden on May 13, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-83. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Player 4: JR Smith

One thing is for certain, JR Smith must be moved.

Smith will bring nothing valuable to this team in the aftermath of LeBron James leaving. Smith is already 32 years old and is on the downside of his career.

Furthermore, Smith isn’t exactly the best type of guy to have inside a locker room full of developing prospects. Imagine having Smith throw soup at an assistant coach as you attempt to teach younger players how to succeed in the NBA.

Smith is another player that may be hard to trade. However, he does have one attribute that could interest a number of teams. When he is hot, Smith is one of the deadliest shooters in the league. This fact alone could make some teams willing to trade with the Cavaliers.

The asking price for Smith isn’t high. If Cleveland could acquire an under the radar player and a few draft picks for Smith, I would consider that a win.

Smith would still be appreciated for everything he gave us while in Cleveland. Sure, it wasn’t all great. Smith definitely had some low-points that made all of Cleveland furious. Like that time he forgot the score of an NBA Finals game.

But I will always remember watching Smith light up the 60-win Atlanta Hawks in the 2015 NBA Playoffs. Or during game seven of the 2016 NBA Finals, when Smith hit crucial three-pointers in the third quarter to keep Cleveland in the game.

The Cavaliers don’t win an NBA Championship without JR Smith. Smith will always be loved by Cleveland, but it’s time to move on.