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J.R. Smith and the Cleveland Cavaliers may be due for a separation. Here are five potential trades for Smith.
It may be time for J.R. Smith and the Cleveland Cavaliers to part ways. After receiving little to no playing time through the team’s first eight games, Smith has expressed his frustration by reportedly confirming he wants a trade.
The 15-year veteran is playing in his fourth season with the Cavs and is playing a career-low 12.0 minutes per game. The franchise has opted to play its younger players in hopes of starting the rebuilding process and Smith’s decreased playing time is a direct result of this.
It seems as if the Cavaliers don’t plan on playing Smith and he appears to have no interest in spending his final NBA seasons as a benchwarmer for a lottery team. So, it’s time for a trade to go down.
Despite having an unfortunate contract, Smith still has some value in today’s NBA and could help a number of different teams. Here are five trade proposals the Cavaliers could make with Smith as the centerpiece.
Cleveland Cavaliers</a> to part ways. After receiving little to no playing time through the team’s first eight games, Smith has expressed his frustration by <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25146296/jr-smith-wants-trade-cleveland-cavaliers">reportedly confirming he wants a trade</a>.</p>
<p>The 15-year veteran is playing in his fourth season with the Cavs and is playing a career-low 12.0 minutes per game. The franchise has opted to play its younger players in hopes of starting the rebuilding process and Smith’s decreased playing time is a direct result of this.</p>
<p>It seems as if the Cavaliers don’t plan on playing Smith and he appears to have no interest in spending his final NBA seasons as a benchwarmer for a lottery team. So, it’s time for a trade to go down.</p>
<p>Despite having an unfortunate contract, Smith still has some value in today’s NBA and could help a number of different teams. Here are five trade proposals the Cavaliers could make with Smith as the centerpiece.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 5 </a>
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<img class="size-large wp-image-328664" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F874054450-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Cleveland Cavaliers (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>5. Houston Rockets</h3>
<p>The Houston Rockets are a team that absolutely loves to shoot 3-pointers — so much so that they have led the league in 3-pointers made and attempted in each of the last two NBA seasons.</p>
<p>J.R. Smith is currently 12th on the all-time 3-pointers list and is one of the best shooters in the league when he gets hot. Last season, J.R. attempted 4.8 3-pointers a game and connected on 37.5 percent of them. Because of this, Smith could potentially thrive in the system that the Rockets play under.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="Trade" data-team-ids="[156,169]" data-team-gets='[["PG - Brandon Knight"],["SG - J.R. Smith"]]'> <div class="playertrade remove-native-227"> <div class="trade"> <div class="team a"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fcavaliers.png">
<div class="details"> <div class="team-name">Cavaliers Get</div> <div class="info">PG - Brandon Knight</div> </div> </div> <div class="separator"></div> <div class="team b"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Frockets.png">
<div class="details"> <div class="team-name">Rockets Get</div> <div class="info">SG - J.R. Smith</div> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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<p>The Rockets are desperate to beat the Golden State Warriors and adding a player who was a key member of the only team to defeat the Dubs in recent years (the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers) could be huge for them. J.R. is the type of player that usually comes up big when the team needs him. This type of presence would be valuable to the Rockets.</p>
<p>In return, the Cavs would receive <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/knighbr03.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Brandon Knight</a>, a young point guard who could complement <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sextoco01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Collin Sexton</a> nicely in the backcourt. As of now, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hillge01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">George Hill</a> holds the starting position for the Cavaliers but he will likely be passing the torch to Sexton soon. By acquiring Knight, the Cavaliers could then look to deal Hill in pursuit of a more favorable player or even a few draft picks.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 4 </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Cleveland Cavaliers (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>4. Milwaukee Bucks</h3>
<p>Packaging both <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/korveky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Kyle Korver</a> and J.R. Smith together will help the Cleveland Cavaliers get the most for their investment. Korver and Smith are two deadeye shooters that can be plugged into any lineup at any time and be trusted to connect from deep.</p>
<p>The Milwaukee Bucks have been shooting the 3-pointer at a high rate this season. They are currently attempting 39.1 3-pointers a game and hitting 37.7 percent of them. Adding Korver and Smith, two extremely good shooters, would help them greatly in becoming a truly elite 3-point shooting team.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="Trade" data-team-ids="[156,89]" data-team-gets='[["SG - Tony Snell<br \/>\nPG - Matthew Dellavedova<br \/>\nC - Thon Maker"],["SG - J.R. Smith<br \/>\nSF - Kyle Korver"]]'> <div class="playertrade remove-native-227"> <div class="trade"> <div class="team a"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/02/cleveland-cavaliers-5-trade-proposals-j-r-smith/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fcavaliers.png">
