J.R. Smith’s head-scratching decision to enter free agency this summer has backfired spectaculary, if not wholly predictably.
Smith is still without a contract for next season and beyond; the Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly offered the 29-year-old less than the guaranteed $6.4 million he left on the table.
There remains a hope in Cleveland that they’ll eventually re-sign Smith, since there’s basically no market for him elsewhere.
Per the NEOMG:
The hard part for Smith is he knows he should have picked up the player option for $6.4 million for 2015-16. When he passed and became a free agent, he really believed a multi-year offer for more money was coming his way. […] It didn’t happen.
Smith forgot that he was still in the process of putting his reputation back together after the trade to Cleveland in January. He had been a problem in New York. Probably not to the extent that Knicks President Phil Jackson claims, but things were turning bitter in the Big Apple for Smith.
Only two teams probably have the salary cap room to offer Smith a contract that would be considered a raise — Philadelphia and Portland. It’s doubtful either will do so. […] The Cavs have made him an offer. I hear it’s less than $6.4 million that he turned down. They know Smith is not thrilled with a lesser deal. But right now, he has no leverage, and a one-year contract puts him in position to cash in next summer when the salary cap rises 30 percent.
