J.R. Smith has officially joined the 2015 NBA free agent class. ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported that Smith did not exercise his 2015-16 player option worth $6.4 million by the 11:59 p.m. ET deadline on Thursday. That means that his services will be available beginning on July 1.
J.R. Smith is a free agent after opting out of Cavaliers contract
The $6.4 million player option on Smith’s contract wasn’t picked up by the deadline, leaving the gunner a free agent.
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
It's believed that the Cavaliers will attempt to keep Smith in the fold after acquiring him midseason from the Knicks. Considered a bad contract in New York, Smith thrived in Cleveland next to LeBron James (who had lobbied for his acquisition) as a deep shooter, off-the-dribble creator and passable defender. Because LeBron advocated for his acquisition, it's expected the Cavaliers front office will make every attempt to retain him.
Cleveland has a number of free agents to deal with, though, led by LeBron and Kevin Love. James' contract should be straightforward, but Love's a trickier beast. Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova also need to be dealt with. Smith may have to be patient to get the dollar commitment he wants from the Cavaliers, unless he's willing to flirt with other teams.
It had been commonly believed Smith would decline his option as the deadline approached, though he had not firmly committed to doing so.
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