Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith, who has played sporadically to open the season, is reportedly seeking a trade.
Per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Smith has not officially made his intentions known to the Cavs’ front office. The 14-year veteran is averaging a career low 2.5 points per game, but is only playing 12 minutes per game. He was inactive for the Cavs’ season-opener against the Toronto Raptors and did not play in Tuesday’s win against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Cavs are in a state of transition this season and recently fired coach Tyronn Lue after Cleveland’s 0-6 start. Per a recent report from ESPN, Smith was told informed recently that he would be removed from the rotation and not receive guarantees about playing time.
Fedor reports that GM Koby Altman recently sat down with Smith a few days ago to ask him whether or not he wanted to stay around the team while in a lesser role.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Smith was asked “Are you hoping for a trade?” and that Smith responded, “Yeah”. Such talk may lead the NBA to examine whether or not Smith’s comments are considered a public trade request, which would expose him to a fine under the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith, who has played sporadically to open the season, is reportedly seeking a trade.
Per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Smith has not officially made his intentions known to the Cavs’ front office. The 14-year veteran is averaging a career low 2.5 points per game, but is only playing 12 minutes per game. He was inactive for the Cavs’ season-opener against the Toronto Raptors and did not play in Tuesday’s win against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Cavs are in a state of transition this season and recently fired coach Tyronn Lue after Cleveland’s 0-6 start. Per a recent report from ESPN, Smith was told informed recently that he would be removed from the rotation and not receive guarantees about playing time.
Fedor reports that GM Koby Altman recently sat down with Smith a few days ago to ask him whether or not he wanted to stay around the team while in a lesser role.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Smith was asked “Are you hoping for a trade?” and that Smith responded, “Yeah”. Such talk may lead the NBA to examine whether or not Smith’s comments are considered a public trade request, which would expose him to a fine under the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
