JR Smith has been in the NBA for a long time, so he has to be burning up, waiting for an opportunity to practice with his guys.
Smith and the Cleveland Cavaliers remain in a stalemate over a couple of million, even with Smith hanging around the team.
Smith, who is represented by Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul, LeBron James’ agent, is looking for $15 million annually — while the Cavaliers have offered him $10-11 million per year, according to cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon.
Last week, James told reporters in Cleveland that Smith “did his part” and “they just need to get it done,” cautioning that “it wouldn’t be good for any side” if Smith didn’t return, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. At that time, ESPN reported that the Cavs were not about to give him $15 million per season:
The Cavs (they appreciate the all caps, by the way) are waiting for Smith to sign the deal they offered him. Smith is waiting for them to up their offer. The team offered somewhere between $10 million and $11 million, annually, while Smith is looking for more like $15 million annually. Isn’t this fun?
Smith opted out of his $5.3 million player option for the 2016-17 season in July, becoming an unrestricted free agent after posting 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals last season.
