July 21, 2015 I By Marcel Mutoni
Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith made the curious decision this summer to opt out of $6.4 million in the last year of his deal.
Smith has yet to secure another contract, and admits that he sort of regrets taking such a gamble.
Smith averaged 12.7 points and made 39% of his three-pointers in 46 games with Cleveland last season, and says he’ll be meeting with the Cavs’ front-office folks this week to figure it all out.
Per the NEOMG:
“That’s always part of the gamble of opting out,” Smith said on Monday at the Four Seasons hotel in Las Vegas, where the NBA players’ union held its summer meeting.
Asked if he regretted his decision to decline his contract option, Smith said “Uh, I mean, yes and no. [...] No because I’ve gotten offers that I wanted, I mean numbers that I wanted, it’s just different situations,” Smith said. “Right now it’s just a matter of seeing what the Cavs come back to me with. Right now they give me the best opportunity to win.”
Smith’s agent, Leon Rose, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. It is believed Smith was seeking somewhere in the $7 million to $9 million range annually, and he declined to disclose which teams his offers may have come from. [...] There are only three teams in the NBA that still have the cap space to give him a raise from last year: the Portland Trail Blazers ($16.4 million in cap space); Philadelphia 76ers ($16.3 million); and Indiana Pacers ($11.5 million).
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