J.R. Smith is not beat up physically from the rigors of the NBA season. Everyone thought it was good for Andre Iguodala.
When the Cavaliers sent J.R. Smith away for the season, his reputation as a malcontent hurt him when he saw the franchise about to fall off a cliff. The media and other “experts” used the NBA Finals mistake to make him look bad. The truth is this statement to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic leaking the Cavs intentions of tanking is what got him banished.
Since J.R. Smith left the Cavaliers, these events have happened.
- Tyronn Lue got fired after a 0-6 start. Why? Because he ignored the orders of the front office of playing the young players and benching the veterans.
Then his replacement, Larry Drew after a nasty negotiation period, got fired at the end of the season. - By the way, the Cavs were 2-13 when Smith left the team.
- John Beilein has had major issues connecting with the team. Remember that “Thug” incident? He left the team after the All-Star break after a 14-40 record after less than a year. He is the third coach in NBA history to be in a situation like this.
- The Cavaliers traded for Andre Drummond for who knows what? Good luck getting him to stay. It was rumored he threatened not to re-sign if Beilein was coach next year.
- Kevin Love is hamstringing the salary cap with an albatross contract.
- Tristan Thompson is trying to get off the Titanic franchise in the offseason.
- Oh, and to top things off, the NBA came up with some rules to stop the tanking epidemic. Interesting when you get to the truth.
Andre Iguodala was kept away from the Memphis Grizzlies for the better part of the year. He then got traded to the Miami Heat. How has that worked out? Both players did not want to be a part of a rebuilding situation. Simple.
Before we get to the shooting (Cause the dude can shoot better than anyone on the Lakers roster!), let’s talk about intangibles and winning plays that get overlooked.