Like Lebron James and Kevin Love, it is no surprise that J.R. Smith would likely follow their lead.
Smith also has a player option and the consensus is that the Cavs swingman will opt out to seek more money come this July.
Though not surprising, the move may not assure Smith of returning to Cleveland. If James and Love opt out to seek better deals, salary cap issues may prevent Smith from returning.
This could all depend on the deals that James and Love would be getting and the obvious priority is the two stars despite Smith showing new signs of life particularly in the NBA Finals.
Smith is best remembered for not giving up in game 6 against the Golden State Warriors, nailing three-pointers that allowed the Cavs to be within striking distance. Though the Cavs fell short due to lack of manpower, Smith certainly helped in his small way to take some load off James who had a consistently monstrous performance all series-long.
Would Cleveland want Smith back next season? Judging by his performance, there is a chance. But opting out of his deal (worth about $6.4 million) could complicate his chances though such is understandable as he looks for security as well.
With a lot of their players opting out and likely to want new contracts with more money, the Cavs look imminently headed to overshooting their salary cap and that could entail lots of money. Are the Cavs willing to spend that much to have another go at the NBA title.
Such may also mean that the Cavs will have little to no chance to go after quality free agents available in July.
Like most teams, it should be interesting to see how the Cavs will manage their roster and make sure that they don't overspend.
As far as Smith is concerned, it all depends on what James, Love and other players like Tristan Thompson will be getting. If the team decides to cut their expenses, Smith may likely be forced to look for another team to play on.
