It appears the now very strained relationship between J.R. Smith and the Cleveland Cavaliers will mercifully be put out of its misery. According to Joe Vardon, the guard will “no longer be actively” with the ballclub, as both side delve into his trade market.
JR Smith will no longer be actively with the Cavs, a league source tells me. He is working with the team to trade him, and in the meantime will work out on his own
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) November 20, 2018
Vardon has stated the breakup is “amicable” at there are no discussion of a buyout.
He had fallen out of the rotation completely, only seeing more court action due to injuries. Smith is only playing 20.2 minutes per game and is averaging a career-low 6.7 points per contest. The Cavs have cut his and other veterans playing time in order to focus on developing their younger players ( i.e Operation: Tank for Zion) and this is something that Smith has been openly critical of and on Monday reiterated his previous trade request.
