National Basketball Association

Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron Calls For Cavs To Re-Sign J.R. Smith

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

LeBron James is calling for the Cleveland Cavaliers and unsigned free agent J.R. Smith to get a deal done

LeBron James saw it last season with Tristan Thompson, when the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t re-sign him until just before the start of the season (Oct 22) and he doesn’t plan on watching it unfold again this time around with J.R. Smith.

Smith remains a free agent, who has been negotiating a new deal with the Cavs, even though the team opened training camp earlier this week.

Now, after not being very public at all about the situation, LeBron James is calling for the two sides to get a deal done.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

[via Cleveland.com]

“We just miss him. We miss having him around. He’s a big piece of our team and they just need to get it done.”

…

“I hate coming into another season – two years in a row – with one of my big guns not here,” James said. “So, for a leader of a team and for me personally, I just hate to deal with this s— again. It’s just too big of a piece to our team to have to deal with in another training camp.”

James said “it wouldn’t be good for any side” if Smith ultimately did not play for the Cavs this season.

Just a few days ago, it was reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers had made a “highly competitive” offer to Smith. Apparently, as evident in his absence through the first week of training camp, it wasn’t that high of an offer in Smith’s eyes.

It’s been reported that Smith is seeking a $15 million per year multi-year contract. And after the type of money that was being thrown around this offseason, it’s actually not that laughable of a deal.

Heck, let’s remember, Evan Turner managed to snag a deal which will pay him upwards of $18.6 million. He’s make $16.4 million.

However, the big problem for the Cavs is that they’re pretty financially-strapped at the moment. And that’s probably the biggest reason why J.R. Smith isn’t in camp right now. Sooner or later, though, Smith will eventually get his. LeBron is clearly trying to expedite that process.

This article originally appeared on