JR Smith said Thursday that he is hoping for a trade.
But sources tell cleveland.com he hasn’t officially made that request to Cavaliers management yet.
Smith entered this season in a precarious spot, with general manager Koby Altman telling Smith and his camp before training camp that playing time would be sporadic. Smith played four minutes in the first three games before head coach Tyronn Lue — fired Sunday morning — put him back in the rotation for the fourth and fifth games of the season.
“I had a conversation with him about it, too,” Smith said of Lue’s decision to go back to some of the veterans. “I told him I don’t want to put him in a position where he had to lose his job. This was before he got fired. He said, ‘The hell with it’ and did what he wanted to do and what he was comfortable with doing, and I respect him for it. But at the same time I don’t think it should have cost him his job.”
Smith didn’t play in the team’s only win of the season Tuesday night against Atlanta and is out of the rotation once again.
Sources told cleveland.com that after sensing poor body language from Smith and worrying about how his attitude could impact the team, Altman sat down with Smith a few days ago and asked the 33-year-old guard whether he wanted to stay around while being glued to the bench.
If Smith wasn’t going to be a leader for the young Cavs and was instead going to sulk, Altman said it would be better for him to go home.
Smith opted to stay.
“I can’t do that to these fans, I can’t do it to the city,” Smith said. “To come from where I came from, from pretty much nothing to Cleveland and the way the city embraced me, the fans embraced me, the relationship I have with them, I can’t do that to them. It’s not about me, it’s not about who wants me here and who doesn’t want me here, for me it’s all about the fans.”
Smith doesn’t understand many things going on around the organization, including Lue’s dismissal. But said he will be a professional.
“I just worry about what I can control, worry about being a good vet to these young guys who are playing,” Smith said. “Cheer for ’em, help ’em as much as they want me to help. I can’t take it personal against my teammates. Regardless of who’s out there, who’s not out there, I’m always going to be a good teammate to my teammates. Other than that, I’m buying time, I guess.”
According to a league source, trading Smith is “easier said than done.”
He has statistically been one of the league’s worst players the last two years, which is why, more than anything else, the front office didn’t agree with Lue’s decision to play him. His contract is also an obstacle. Smith is making $14.7 million this season. His $15.6 million contract is partially guaranteed for $3.8 million in 2019-20.
Smith, the last one to leave the court following Thursday’s shootaround, admitted “it’s hard” to come to work with a positive attitude and “put on a front” that’s he’s happy.