Smith turned down his option for more than $6 million earlier this offseason and was out there on the free agent market until Thursday night when he posted on his Instagram page that he will be returning to the Cavaliers next season.
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The sometimes controversial Smith was considered a tag-a-long in a trade from New York to Cleveland for Iman Shumpert.
He is returning to the Cavs, per a message he delivered on his Instagram account.
J.R. Smith is going back to Cleveland. He states – underneath a lovely beach picture – that he opted out of his contract to “understand the landscape”, but ultimately decided to come back to the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers had things they needed to do in order to piece together a championship calibre roster.
In their playoff run, Smith played in 18 games and was averaging 12.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per outing. This includes first round draft picks following their fourth (option) season, who accept their team’s qualifying offer for their fifth season.
“I ended up deciding that instead of potentially securing a larger deal elsewhere, I wanted to re-join an incredible organization in pursuit of the ultimate goal, an National Basketball Association championship”. Thank you to the Cavaliers for making this happen.
“For me as a leader, I don’t care how many shots he missed”, Cavaliers small forward LeBron James said. “It doesn’t matter. He has to stay confident”.
Smith declined his $6.8 million player option following the season. The lawyers and judge are planning to meet Thursday, when they will go through jury instructions.
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Prince averaged 7.5 points in 58 games last year for Memphis, Detroit and Boston.
