The Los Angeles Lakers, who were informed by guard Avery Bradley that he would not participate in the rest of the 2020 season thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, have reportedly settled on his replacement for the remainder of the season.

Los Angeles will reportedly ink veteran shooting guard JR Smith to a deal for the remainder of the year.

The 34-year-old scorer, the 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year and NBA Championship winner with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, will have the chance to come back to the league after he was waived by his former team last summer.

He has not appeared in an NBA game since November 2018.

Smith, who had spent the past five seasons as a volume-shooting sixth man for Cleveland, will reunite with former teammate LeBron James as he looks to play a part on the bench for a Lakers team that has NBA title aspirations.

The former Hornet, Nugget, and Knick will be expected to provide bench depth for the Lakers along with Dion Waiters, Alex Caruso, and Rajon Rondo as the team looks to continue the success that has propelled them to a title contender this year.

The contract is expected to be finished and announced by the middle of the week.

The post Lakers Finalizing Deal with SG JR Smith appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a long-anticipated move official on Monday, waiving veteran shooting guard JR Smith after four seasons.

Cleveland thanked Smith for his part in the franchise’s first-ever NBA title in a goodbye tweet on Monday evening. While Smith’s career with the Cavaliers was imperfect, his bench scoring was vital in the Cavs’ stunning comeback NBA Finals win against the Golden State Warriors in summer 2016.

The unpredictable spark plug joined Cleveland after a journeyman career which took him through New Orleans, Denver, New York, and even China before he teamed up with the Cavs’ Big 3 of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love.

He was known for his brilliant and frustrating moments with the Cavs, such as when he apparently forgot that the game was tied, foregoing a chance to shoot and win the game, in the Cavs’ Game 1 loss to the Warriors in the 2018 Finals.

The best season of his career so far came in 2012-13, when he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 18.1 points per game off of the bench for the Knicks.

Smith stepped away from the Cavaliers last season despite being under contract after expressing his desire to be traded to a contender. Now, after the Cavs’ decision to not keep his $15 million contract on the roster as the team rebuilds, he’ll have the chance to join one.

The post JR Smith Waived by Cavaliers, Becomes Free Agent appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Despite not being injured and being under contract, Cleveland Cavaliers’ JR Smith hasn’t suited up for NBA games since November 2018. Still, Smith’s name is regularly a topic among general managers around the league thanks to his attractive expiring contract with Miami Heat emerging as his latest suitors.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that Heat is interested in getting Smith via “salary-designed trade.” Miami hopes that dealing for the 33-year-old guard would allow them to move some of their bad contracts in the offseason, which would give them some cap flexibility ahead of free agency this summer.

Smith currently has a one-year left on his deal which pays him $15.7 million for 2019-20 NBA Season. However, only $3.87 million is guaranteed, so Heat could cut him and clear a considerable amount of cap space.

JR Smith clashed with Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office early in the season, publicly criticizing the team and Cavs’ lack of effort when it comes to winning basketball games. This caused Cavaliers to remove Smith from the roster, letting him know that he won’t be a part of the organization anymore.

Smith joined the Cavs in 2015 and was fairly productive during his time in Cleveland, averaging 9.9 points per game and shooting 38 percent from the 3-point line. He also helped the team to win an NBA championship and make three consecutive NBA Finals trips.

The post Heat Reportedly Considering a Trade for Cavs’ JR Smith appeared first on SportzBonanza.

When LeBron James left Cleveland Cavaliers over the summer to join the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cavs announced that they still expect to make the playoffs and be a good basketball team. But things look different after their first 15 games in the NBA since the Cavaliers are the worst team in the NBA at the moment with a 2-13 record. According to their guard JR Smith, this was the plan all along.

“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 after the 102-113 loss to Detroit Pistons on Monday night. “I think the goal is to develop and lose to get lottery picks. I think that was always the plan.”

Cavaliers gave the impression that they will chase the playoff spot when they resigned their All-Star forward Kevin Love to four-year, $120 million, extension. But Love managed to play only four games before going down with an injury, which caused Cavs to go on a losing streak. In order to shake thing up, the organization fired coach Tyronn Lue. This didn’t lead to better results, and the team started giving more chance to their younger players while veterans like JR Smith saw their playing time being cut down.

Smith is playing only 20.2 minutes per game this season, averaging career-low 6.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

This caused Smith to publicly say that he wants to be traded in the past. The33-year-old repeated on Monday that he doesn’t want to be a part of the Cleveland Cavaliers if the team intends to “tank” this season.

“Not if the goal isn’t to compete, to win,” – he said according to The Athletic.

The post JR Smith Says Cavs Never Planned to Win This Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

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.

The post JR Smith Wants to Be Traded from Cleveland appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who were informed by guard Avery Bradley that he would not participate in the rest of the 2020 season thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, have reportedly settled on his replacement for the remainder of the season.

Los Angeles will reportedly ink veteran shooting guard JR Smith to a deal for the remainder of the year.

The 34-year-old scorer, the 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year and NBA Championship winner with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, will have the chance to come back to the league after he was waived by his former team last summer.

He has not appeared in an NBA game since November 2018.

Smith, who had spent the past five seasons as a volume-shooting sixth man for Cleveland, will reunite with former teammate LeBron James as he looks to play a part on the bench for a Lakers team that has NBA title aspirations.

The former Hornet, Nugget, and Knick will be expected to provide bench depth for the Lakers along with Dion Waiters, Alex Caruso, and Rajon Rondo as the team looks to continue the success that has propelled them to a title contender this year.

The contract is expected to be finished and announced by the middle of the week.

The post Lakers Finalizing Deal with SG JR Smith appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a long-anticipated move official on Monday, waiving veteran shooting guard JR Smith after four seasons.

Cleveland thanked Smith for his part in the franchise’s first-ever NBA title in a goodbye tweet on Monday evening. While Smith’s career with the Cavaliers was imperfect, his bench scoring was vital in the Cavs’ stunning comeback NBA Finals win against the Golden State Warriors in summer 2016.

The unpredictable spark plug joined Cleveland after a journeyman career which took him through New Orleans, Denver, New York, and even China before he teamed up with the Cavs’ Big 3 of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love.

He was known for his brilliant and frustrating moments with the Cavs, such as when he apparently forgot that the game was tied, foregoing a chance to shoot and win the game, in the Cavs’ Game 1 loss to the Warriors in the 2018 Finals.

The best season of his career so far came in 2012-13, when he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 18.1 points per game off of the bench for the Knicks.

Smith stepped away from the Cavaliers last season despite being under contract after expressing his desire to be traded to a contender. Now, after the Cavs’ decision to not keep his $15 million contract on the roster as the team rebuilds, he’ll have the chance to join one.

The post JR Smith Waived by Cavaliers, Becomes Free Agent appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Despite not being injured and being under contract, Cleveland Cavaliers’ JR Smith hasn’t suited up for NBA games since November 2018. Still, Smith’s name is regularly a topic among general managers around the league thanks to his attractive expiring contract with Miami Heat emerging as his latest suitors.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that Heat is interested in getting Smith via “salary-designed trade.” Miami hopes that dealing for the 33-year-old guard would allow them to move some of their bad contracts in the offseason, which would give them some cap flexibility ahead of free agency this summer.

Smith currently has a one-year left on his deal which pays him $15.7 million for 2019-20 NBA Season. However, only $3.87 million is guaranteed, so Heat could cut him and clear a considerable amount of cap space.

JR Smith clashed with Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office early in the season, publicly criticizing the team and Cavs’ lack of effort when it comes to winning basketball games. This caused Cavaliers to remove Smith from the roster, letting him know that he won’t be a part of the organization anymore.

Smith joined the Cavs in 2015 and was fairly productive during his time in Cleveland, averaging 9.9 points per game and shooting 38 percent from the 3-point line. He also helped the team to win an NBA championship and make three consecutive NBA Finals trips.

The post Heat Reportedly Considering a Trade for Cavs’ JR Smith appeared first on SportzBonanza.

When LeBron James left Cleveland Cavaliers over the summer to join the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cavs announced that they still expect to make the playoffs and be a good basketball team. But things look different after their first 15 games in the NBA since the Cavaliers are the worst team in the NBA at the moment with a 2-13 record. According to their guard JR Smith, this was the plan all along.

“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 after the 102-113 loss to Detroit Pistons on Monday night. “I think the goal is to develop and lose to get lottery picks. I think that was always the plan.”

Cavaliers gave the impression that they will chase the playoff spot when they resigned their All-Star forward Kevin Love to four-year, $120 million, extension. But Love managed to play only four games before going down with an injury, which caused Cavs to go on a losing streak. In order to shake thing up, the organization fired coach Tyronn Lue. This didn’t lead to better results, and the team started giving more chance to their younger players while veterans like JR Smith saw their playing time being cut down.

Smith is playing only 20.2 minutes per game this season, averaging career-low 6.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

This caused Smith to publicly say that he wants to be traded in the past. The33-year-old repeated on Monday that he doesn’t want to be a part of the Cleveland Cavaliers if the team intends to “tank” this season.

“Not if the goal isn’t to compete, to win,” – he said according to The Athletic.

The post JR Smith Says Cavs Never Planned to Win This Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

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.

The post JR Smith Wants to Be Traded from Cleveland appeared first on SportzBonanza.