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Cleveland Cavaliers: Trading JR Smith is the ignition to the Cavs firesale

By Nathan Beighle

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 15: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors holdst the ball against JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on January 15, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 15: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors holdst the ball against JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on January 15, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers need to make a few deals to sharpen up their team, and one of them, quite possibly the first domino to fall, is the trading of JR Smith.

It feels like once the first domino falls, the rest will follow. Eventually, whether it be in the next few weeks or closer to the February trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have a firesale, and JR Smith will be one of a few players auctioned off.

Smith, for starters, has been grinding his offseason. Training with Chris Brickley, one of the NBA’s elite trainers, Smith seems to be taking control of his own destiny. That also means that the hopefully improved Smith might increase his rather low trade value.

As for the Cleveland Cavaliers, they need elite playmaking, not three-point shooting. During his four-year tenure with the Cavs, Smith has been asked to solely be a three-point shooter, taking a career-high 76.1% of his shots from downtown during the 2016-2017 season.

Now, without LeBron James, Cleveland won’t have that nightly triple-double presence. They won’t be able to rely on one player to take over the game when their down. That said, they can’t necessarily be relying on JR Smith down the stretch either.

Smith, who had well over 90% of his threes assists on last season, will struggle to get open for clean looks. Additionally, there are a few teams that might be able to trade for Smith.

Availability and tradable are the two things necessarily prior to any transaction. That said, Smith should certainly be available, but is he tradable?

After the cap spike a few seasons ago, many teams went haywire and gave away outrageous contracts, limiting their ability to get better via trade. Meaning, Smith’s $14.7 million that he’s owed next year might not be worth many team’s limited cap space.

However, there are teams like OKC or Philadelphia that seem to have some cap space to spare and could “take” Smith off the Cavs hand for a few second rounds or something in that ballpark. Since both teams are expected to contend for the title, Smith could hop right in and be at home on a championship-level team.

Smith’s ability to enhance the Cavaliers appetite in the open market is one reason he will be the first player traded. He, unlike many other Cavaliers, is difficult to sell to opposing teams. If Smith is sold, then players like Kyle Korver and Tristan Thompson might follow suit.

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Korver has the ability and the contract, but the Cavs really have no need to trade him, the same goes for Thompson. Seizing any opportunity and creating this mini firesale by riding themselves of JR Smith is the smart move for Cleveland.