After J.R. Smith gave us that riveting NBA Finals Game 7 post-game speech about his family and what a championship means to him, most would believe that he's staying put and thankful to be in Cleveland through next year. Even though he's on Easy Street with a championship ring to sport, Smith to opt out of his $5.4 million-player option to seek free agency. Now he has a dilemma of either being a free agent to make more money with another team or coming back for their repeat 2016-2017 championship goals.
He was on ESPN's His & Hers recently to explain his situation:
But he knows that even when he says it's not about the "nice cars and houses" that he family has, it's about getting more money next year rather than taking a pay cut after winning it all. According to Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler, Smith would like to stay if the Cavs are willing to pay him $15 million per year for his new contract.
The Cavs paid his $5 million last season, and with the big contracts that were being shelled out in this free agent market, J.R. actually has a modest price tag. Smith averaged 12.3 points per game last season, shot 41.5% percent from behind the arc, and is steadily rising up the all-time 3-point scoring list at No. 17 behind Steve Nash.
