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What Does J.R. Smith’s Return Mean for the Cavaliers?

By Joe Russo

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J.R. Smith used his Instagram account to announce that he is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2015 campaign. After declining his $6.4 million option, Smith found a cold market for his services and signed for a still valuable $5 million per season for two seasons with the final year being in the form of a player option.

Smith also managed to earn a no-trade clause as part of the deal, ensuring the type of stability he has not had in quite some time in his career.

Smith should maintain his status as the first guard off of the bench, even with the addition of Mo Williams. His shooting and a career mark of a whopping 18 points per 36 minutes proves he is best suited for an offense spark, not a full time starter. Cavs fans saw how effective he was in that role last year, save for a putrid NBA Finals performance, where he shot himself out of the big payday he had hoped for when he opted out of his contract.

As for Williams, he will see the vast majority of his minutes as the back up to Kyrie Irving at point guard. Yes, he has proven he can play off of the ball at the two-guard spot, but his real value to this team is as a leading ball handler for the second unit. That was something neither Smith nor Matthew Dellavedova could handle last season. Because of that, Williams will see his approximately 25 minutes per night as a point guard, not shooting guard.

The biggest loser of Smith’s new deal is Delly. After becoming a cult hero in Cleveland for his gritty performance in the NBA Finals, the truth remains that he is as far inferior offensive player to any of the guards in front of him on the depth chart.

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Sure, he can play some defense, but let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that Delly is a world beater as an on ball defender. There’s a reason the Cavs went out and added Mo Williams, and if you watched any finals game after game one, well, then you know that Delly’s results fall short of his effort.

Smith also provides better depth at the small forward spot. By adding Richard Jefferson and keeping James Jones and Iman Shumpert on the roster, there is now plenty of options on the wing to both spell LeBron James and allow James to play more power forward in small lineups. Shumpert’s defense made a huge impact last season and Jefferson, though up there in age, still managed to shoot 42% from deep last season in Dallas.

What Smith’s signing leaves now is the Tristan Thompson question, which I will get to in another piece shortly. Smith overvalued himself on the market and found his way back to Cleveland on a deal that really does work well for both sides. $5 million is fair value for a streaky shooter like Smith and the no-trade clause is a sign of commitment from the Cavs. Perhaps Thompson can use this as a sign that he needs to reassess his true value to the Cavaliers.

Either way, the Smith signing was more important as he shores up a back-court that really struggled after losing Kyrie Irving. No, Smith cannot replace the All-Star level performance of the Cavs starting point guard, but his return allows Cleveland’s bench back-court to resemble a real, actual NBA back-court instead of what the Cavs trotted out against Golden State in the NBA Finals.

Next: 3 Options For The Cleveland Cavaliers Trade Exceptions

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