On Monday, the Cleveland Cavalierswaived J.R. Smith, on account of not being able to pull off a trade prior to the afternoon deadline:
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski added that, should Smith make it through the waiver process unclaimed, he's unlikely to re-team up with LeBron as a Laker. Three weeks ago it was reported that L.A. could be a prime destination for Smith if/when this eventually happened:
The Cavs had been looking to unload the soon-to-be-34-year-old Smith in a trade since this past November because only about a quarter of his $15.6 million salary was guaranteed. Smith suited up for just 11 of Cleveland's games in 2018-19, and he agreed to leave the squad to wait for a trade or release. A day prior to that agreement he had accused the team of tanking, while publicly stating that their goal was to "develop [young players] and lose to get lottery picks."
Anyway, Smith's now official departure after spending parts of the past five seasons in Cleveland brought about mixed reactions from those who will remember his days as a Cav fondly, as well as those who think he'll soon be begging LeBron to join L.A.:
