It has always been likely that J.R. Smith would return to the Cleveland Cavaliers for next season but he did everything in his power to make that as difficult as possible. 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.
A photo posted by JR Smith (@teamswish) on Aug 20, 2015 at 6:17pm PDT
Smith posted a photo of him at the beach with a caption that reads:
"Happy to say that I am returning to the Cavs! It's been a long ride this summer but I can say for sure, well worth the wait. When I opted out of my contract, I wanted to understand the landscape of the NBA and where I fit best. The Cavaliers had things they needed to do in order to piece together a championship caliber roster. I ended up deciding that instead of potentially securing a larger deal elsewhere, I wanted to rejoin an incredible organization in pursuit of the ultimate goal, an NBA championship. Thank you to the Cavaliers for making this happen. Can't wait to get started! #TheLand"
Smith has said all along that he has been receiving offers from other NBA teams but, as he said in the Instagram post, he turned down more money from those other teams so that he could go back to Cleveland and chase a championship.
At one point the Cavaliers were reportedly not very happy with Smith for turning down his option but they were obviously able to come to some sort of deal. Details of the deal have not been put out yet as Smith just announced the news on Instagram but odds are that he will be making much less money than the option he turned down would have paid considering the Cavaliers are significantly over the luxury tax line.
Now that Smith is on board for next season the Cavaliers can turn their attention to re-signing Tristan Thompson to a deal and getting a deal done with Sasha Kaun. In 46 games with the Cavaliers last season Smith averaged 12.7 points per game while making 39 percent of his threes and will play a key role again for the Cavs in the upcoming season.
Update: Smith's deal is for two years with the first year paying him $5 million and the second year being a player option at $5 million also, according Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
