Cleveland Cavaliers: The JR Smith fiasco and building for the future

Not so long ago I posted about how the Cleveland Cavaliers are in basketball purgatory. That holding pattern has opened a trap door and shot a struggling Cavaliers side into hell. The latest news is sometimes absent-minded and solid two-way player J.R. Smith wants out of Cleveland.

Smith and Cleveland GM Koby Altman have had disagreements all season. Originally Altman felt it was best to move Smith but Smith wanted to stay. In a recent statement the Cavaliers front office said:

"The organization wishes JR and his family well and appreciates and thanks him for his contributions in the community, to the team and his role in the 2016 NBA Championship."

As for Smith, he has his own opinions. "I don't think the goal is to win. The goal isn't to go out there and try to get as many wins as you can," Smith told The Athletic. "I think the goal is to develop and lose to get lottery picks. I think that was always the plan."

Smith has asked for a trade and the Cavaliers have essentially asked Smith to leave the team pending a suitable resolution to the matter.

Smith awaiting trade

Considering the Cavaliers no longer have superstar LeBron James, the future was not bright in Cleveland. Smith certainly wouldn’t be wrong if he’s suggesting that the Cavaliers are more interested in the future than the present. It has been reported that 2018 rookie Collin Sexton has been described by his Cavaliers' teammates as someone who doesn’t know how to play basketball. If that’s true, the Cavaliers are in deep soup given that Sexton is their first possible piece for building for the future

Looking back to 2011, the Cavaliers had drafted in the top four both Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. The following year they added Jae Crowder and Dion Waiters. In 2013, they also drafted Anthony Bennett and in 2014 they drafted Andrew Wiggins. It's hard not to notice that none of these players except Tristan Thompson remains a Cavalier and since LeBron made his Cavaliers return in 2014 the trade-off was youth for a chance at winning.

The Cavaliers made the NBA Finals the last four season winning once, but the tradeoff has been drafting just three players since 2015. Management sacrificed the franchise’s future. So the Smith drama should have been expected. Not necessarily this scenario, but needing to move veteran pieces for draft picks and cap relief should be the team’s priority.

At 2-13, Cleveland’s record is probably worse than they actually are. Kevin Love is out indefinitely and even J.R. Smith was hurt at the start of the season. The majority of the current roster was crafted with LeBron James as the centerpiece. Once he left, the parts are not whole.

What made matters worse for Smith is Cleveland's management wanted to direct more playing time to their younger players. An example of this is Cleveland’s Monday night loss to Detroit where Smith played just six minutes. Smith currently earns $14.7 million and is due $15.6 million next year of which a third is guaranteed.

Neither the Cavaliers nor Smith have proposed a buyout option. At age 33 Smith is averaging just 6.7 points per game and is shooting 34%. I would expect that the Cavaliers will try, after several years of rumors to move veterans like Kevin Love and Channing Frye to accelerate their rebuild.

As things stand right now, the Cavaliers are in lottery pick territory along with teams like the Suns, Bulls, Knicks and Atlanta Hawks. A fire sale, by the Cavaliers now, could mean the prize at the end is Duke’s 6’6 power forward Zion Williamson who is already being listed in mock drafts as the 2019 NBA draft number 1 selection.

While no one ever wants to admit they are tanking a season, the smart move for Cleveland would be an exodus of veteran players for picks and cap relief. This means moving on from Kyle Korver, J.R. Smith, Kevin Love, and Channing Frye. If the side effect is selecting 1st overall at the lottery draft, Cleveland is already in purgatory sliding into a hell they created for themselves, but there is always a way to rise above the flames.