Cleveland Sports Forum

and a key player in the Miracle at Richfield.

I gotta tell ya, JR Smith is in the EXACT same situation he was last offseason. The Cavs are capped out and absolutely will not go ALL OUT for JR Smith. Yet, his performance on the open market would be worth far more than he would get with the Cavs. BUT, his head case reputation also caps that value. LOL, same as last offseason.


J.R. Smith - G/F - Cavaliers

J.R. Smith is still negotiating with the Cavaliers, but the two sides reportedly aren't close to a deal.

Smith is seeking a contract that will pay him around $15 million a year, but the Cavaliers have been unwilling to move up to that number.

"I think the good news is J.R. wants to be here and we want J.R. back," general manager David Griffin said. "These things sometimes take time and he has representatives that want him to be with us as well so when the time is right something will get done. I'm very confident about that."

J.R. did not handle his negotiations very effectively last summer. I'm guessing he has a new agent this year.

Problem is he has absolutely no leverage. Zero.

They know he wants to stay. They know other teams are leery of him. And they are capped out.

So it is come back cheap or don't come back.

OF course I'll now put "cheap" in quotes. He won't be in any soup kitchen lines

But compared to ex-teammates Delly and Mozdog he could be a pauper.

And likely will be.

Brian Windhorst
LeBron James has agreed to a 3-year, $100 contract with the Cavs, sources told ESPN

LeBron James new 3-year, $100 MILLION deal makes him highest paid player in the league for first time at $31M this season

But is there an opt out clause?

A guy I follow on Twitter said headlines tomorrow will be, "Lebron to the Lakers in 2019!"

TFIR isn't even waiting till then!

LOL, if he stays until then I likely won't care.

But the thing is, he last signed a 2 year deal, but it's 2 years in name only. If there's an opt out.

Same with a 3. If there's an opt out it's really not a 3.

So far I see no mention(s) of option(s).

I was surprised at first when lebron started the one year deals with an option. I know the cap goes up, but what if he gets hurt?

So at this point evidently the cap has gone up enough maybe he's going for more security. Works for me!

OK. So really it's 2 years. With the third year his option (which he won't pick up when the cap spikes)

For the first time since leaving the Miami Heat in July, 2014, James has signed for multiple years. The first two years of the deal he reached with the Cavs are a lock, and a source told Cleveland.com he's seeking a player's option in Year 3.

So, in reality, this is a two-year, $64 million deal with a roughly $36 million player's option. Had he only signed for one year, his salary would've been $27.5 million. Instead, he'll make about $31 million – the highest salary for any player in the NBA.

J.R. Smith - G/F - Cavaliers

According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the Cavs would likely prefer a shorter contract for J.R. Smith.

Neither side is budging in contract talks with Smith said to be commanding $15 million per year, but he doesn't have much leverage because of his reputation around the league. He recently said that he's hoping that a deal will be complete soon, but it's worth noting that he's using the same agent that Tristan Thompson used before ultimately signing a five-year, $82 million deal. The clock is ticking with training camp right around the corner.

Fun article to get the season kicked off:

Mike Dunleavy: Cleveland Cavaliers have work ethic not seen in Chicago

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Mike Dunleavy, one of the new members of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has only been with the reigning NBA champions for a few months. But it hasn't taken him long to see what makes the group so special.

It goes beyond the bounty of talent.

"Pretty humble group for coming off winning a championship and going to the Finals two years in a row," Dunleavy said following Thursday's practice, his third with his new teammates. "They like to joke around and have a good time, but when it gets down to doing work they're serious, put the time in and you don't always see that with teams.

"I've been on a lot of teams where guys come and go, show up five minutes before practice and leave right after. We have our best players here an hour and a half early and stay an hour and a half late. Quite honestly, that's kind of new to me."

Dunleavy, a 15-year NBA veteran, spent the last three years in Chicago, playing alongside Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler. Dunleavy helped the Bulls reach the playoffs his first two seasons, but Chicago collapsed under new head coach Fred Hoiberg last season, leading to rumors of discontent in the locker room, finger-pointing, questionable work ethic from Rose and a roster overhaul.

"I found out D-Wade was going to Chicago so at that point I knew I was going to have to get traded and things were up in the air for me for a few hours because I didn't really know where I was going," Dunleavy said. "Finally got a phone call from the Bulls telling me I was coming to Cleveland."

With the Bulls needing to clear enough cap space for Wade's massive contract, the Cavaliers quickly showed interest in the sweet-shooting veteran.

Armed with a trade exception from an earlier deal with Milwaukee involving point guard Matthew Dellavedova, the Cavs were able to absorb Dunleavy's contract while also including the rights to forward Albert Miralles.

"Couldn't have worked out any better for in terms of what I'm looking for at this stage of my career," Dunleavy said. "Just really happy about it and looking forward to rocking and rolling this year."

It couldn't have worked out much better for Cleveland either. The Cavs are always in search of versatility and Dunleavy can play multiple positions. They also seek outside shooters, guys capable of making opponents pay for committing too many bodies to slowing down Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love.

"Gives us great shooting," head coach Tyronn Lue said. "Dunleavy over the last two years I think is shooting 52 percent on open shots. He's a guy who can straight-line drive and then when he gets to the basket he'll make a play or make a pass. Defensively he's always in the right spots.

"I talked to Thibs (former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, now in Minnesota) about him. He's an underrated defender because he's a great team defender and whatever you do, he's always going to be in the right spot or the right place. I just think when you're playing with guys like Kyrie, Kevin and LeBron, you can get all those you want. If you can shoot the basketball, you can be very valuable."

Dunleavy, 36, averages 11.5 points on 44.1 percent from the field, including 37.6 percent from 3-point range in his career.
Dunleavy shoots 092916

He's coming off the worst statistical season since his rookie year in 2002-03, as he averaged 7.2 points on 41 percent from the field, including 39.4 percent from beyond the arc during an injury-riddled season. He missed the first 49 games with a back injury that still requires plenty of maintenance, especially at this point of his career. He has only played a full 82-game season three times.

"I feel good. Last year at this time was not so good. But I got that behind me," Dunleavy said. "I feel great, a whole lot better than I did last year. Looking forward to a healthy season."

James has long admired Dunleavy. The four-time MVP even spearheaded the Cavs' effort to sign Dunleavy in the summer of 2015, before the veteran re-upped with the Bulls.

After numerous matchups against him, James will finally get his wish this season.

"He has a lot left," James said. "We wouldn't have reached out to him if he didn't have anything left. He has a high basketball IQ, he comes from a basketball pedigree family and over the course of his career, he just played winning basketball wherever he's been, all the way back from going to high school, to going to Duke, to the teams he's played with in the NBA. And he's a great locker room guy too, just a true professional. So, it's great to have him."

Dunleavy rebuffed the Cavaliers once, believing familiarity with the Bulls was the best choice. It didn't work out as expected, as he was expendable one year later, monitoring the off-season activity and wondering where his future would take him.

But he's in Cleveland now, excited to be playing on a title contender, for a coach who has a "great understanding of the game" and he's willing to do whatever the team asks.

"It all worked out," Dunleavy said. "Made my rounds around the Central Division here and figured at some point I was going to make it to Cleveland."

Toney Douglas - G - Cavaliers

The Cavaliers have signed free agent point guard Toney Douglas.

It's an excellent signing for the Cavs after Douglas put up averages of 8.7 points, 2.6 assists, 2.3 boards, 1.1 steals and 1.3 treys for the Pelicans last season. With Mo Williams retiring, Douglas will now compete with Kay Felder for the backup role behind Kyrie Irving.