Sep 24, 2018; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) poses during Cavs Media Day at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers have made some mistakes in free agency that have been very costly for the franchise. Here are the biggest three.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have not always had the best track record in free agency. They are a small market team which has often forced them to overpay for players during their history. In both LeBron eras, the Cleveland Cavs overpaid for talent to surround the King with a semi-respectable roster and found themselves paying the price later on.
Cavaliers biggest free-agent mistakes: 3. J.R Smith
In the summer of 2016, the cap exploded and pretty much every team in the league that was not the Warriors were worse off because of it. This included the Cavs, coming off winning a title over the Warriors. J.R Smith was a key contributor on that team and ended up signing for a four-year, $57 million deal. This contract did have a non-guaranteed portion in the fourth year of the deal but this cost the Cavs a lot.
Due to contracts like this, Cleveland was poorly equipped to respond to the Warriors signing Kevin Durant. Smith would never average over 10 points in a season after signing the contract and the Cavs would end up waiving him. He ended up having a small part in why the Lakers were able to win the 2020 championship, in a reduced role.