According to new rumors, the Cleveland Cavaliers have already made an offer to re-sign J.R. Smith. However, since the figure presented by the Cavs are too low for the shooting guard, Smith reportedly started entertaining offers from other NBA teams.
For now, Smith is still a free agent but he is expected to be retained by the Cavs since he played a big part in the team becoming the 2016 NBA champions. But, for some time now, there have been rumors indicating that Smith might leave Cleveland.
Although Smith would still like to remain with the Cavs, money is a factor that can greatly change his decision. Of course, that's the whole reason why Smith declined his player option for the 2016-2017 season. He wanted to become a free agent because he knows his value in the league has gone up significantly after successfully playing for a championship team.
And, according to Sportsrageous, the Cavs have already started talking to the athlete about re-signing him. The problem, however, is that Smith is reportedly getting lowballed.
If this is true, then Smith might consider joining with a new team that will appreciate him more than the Cavs. Given his championship experience, other franchises are surely willing to offer him a big contract for his services.
But then again, given Cavs general manager David Griffin's recent statements, Cleveland will probably do whatever it can to secure Smith, even if that means matching what other teams might offer.
According to the GM, retaining Smith will depend on the team's negotiations with his representatives. Hopefully, though, the team sees him as the valuable athlete that he is and offers him a decent contract. But then again, this will depend on how much cap space the team still has after signing other high profile players such as LeBron James.
"I think the good news is J.R. Smith wants to be here and we want J.R. back," Griffin told ESPN according to Cleveland.com. "These things sometimes take time and he has representatives that want him to be with us as well. When the time is right something will get done. I'm very confident about that."
