Cleveland Cavaliers’ guard JR Smith is unhappy with his role on the team this season, and he wants to be traded. Smith, who was a starter for the Cavs in 2017-18, was recently removed from the rotation for the second time since the season started, so the 33-year-old would like to find playing time somewhere else.
“Yeah,” responded Smith when reporters asked him whether he would like to leave Cleveland. “They know. They don’t want me here, so they obviously know.”
JR Smith played only four games this season, averaging 2.5 points and one rebound per game. He has expressed his frustration with the situation on previous occasions and was reportedly even considering taking some time away from the team.
The issue for both JR Smith and Cleveland is the fact that he has an expensive contract which pays him $18 million a year, which most teams wouldn’t want to take on.
Smith isn’t the only Cavaliers’ player who was left out of the rotation since Kyle Korver also doesn’t play much this season. He could also be traded and the Cavs’ reportedly started shopping him in the past couple of days.
The market for Korver is a lot bigger than that for JR Smith, considering the fact that the 37-year-old is one of the best three-point shooters in the history of the league and has a team-friendly contract.
