The Philadelphia 76ers are an up and coming bunch with money to spend, and according to Marc Stein, helped another player land a huge deal with his original team.
Earlier in the summer, Manu Ginobili was able to get big money out of San Antonio, after he reportedly considered signing an inflated deal for $14 million per season.
Now according to Stein — the same thing happened with Smith as well.
ESPN sources say a hard push from Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo for J.R. Smith helped sparked Friday's talks with the Cavs to get a deal done
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 15, 2016
Smith agreed to a new deal with the Cavs on Friday worth a reported $57 million, after originally balking at signing for $10 million per season.
The Sixers have 199 losses over the last three seasons, but after drafting Ben Simmons and getting Joel Embiid back, are in win-now mode.