Teams are still interested in dealing for JR Smith.
The Cavaliers continue to receive calls about potential trades for the 33-year-old shooting guard, according to a report from Cleveland.com.
Smith played in just 11 games in 2018-19 before he agreed to part ways with the team and sat out the rest of the season. Cleveland had a chance to move Smith before the deadline but decided to hold on to him with the hopes of trading him this summer, the report says.
Smith will be on an expiring contract next season, which makes him a valuable trade asset, Cleveland general manger Koby Altman told reporters last week.
“We have a trade chip in JR Smith, and his contract, where we can take on some money that other teams are trying to get some cap relief from,” Altman said, via Cleveland.com. “We are actually the only team in the NBA that can provide guaranteed cap relief until July 1. We can guarantee that right now and we actually had a phone call (Thursday) on that trade chip.
“So, we’re going to keep on being aggressive adding those assets because we do eventually want to consolidate and be really good at some point.”
Smith was traded from the Knicks to Cleveland in January 2015. He was a valuable contributor during the Cavaliers’ championship run in 2015-16 but he has declined since then.
He averaged 8.3 points in 2017-18 and just 6.7 points during his 11 appearances last season.
The veteran has also played for New Orleans and Denver over his 15-year NBA career.
The Cavaliers finished the season with a 19-63 record and missed the playoffs. They mutually agreed to part ways with coach Larry Drew earlier this month.