featured-image

Daily News - July 17, 2019

**NOTE: The news clips and articles listed don't necessarily reflect the views or beliefs of the Cleveland Cavaliers or their Basketball Operations staff, partners, or sponsors.**

Cleveland Cavaliers: Why J.R. Smith will always be special to some fans
Author: Terry Pluto
Publication: Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – In some ways, J.R. Smith is this generation’s Bobby “Bingo” Smith to Cleveland Cavaliers fans.

Bingo Smith had a much longer career, 10 years with the Cavs beginning with the birth of the franchise in 1970.

His number No. 7 has been retired by the franchise, something that confuses many younger fans. He was never an All-Star. He never averaged more than 15.9 points per season. For the Cavs, he was a career 13.2 scorer.

Good but not great.

But to fully appreciate Bingo Smith, well, you had to be there. . .

For the dismal days and smoky nights at the old Cleveland Arena in the early 1970s when the Cavs were deplorable. . .
- CLICK HERE to read full story.

JR Smith’s legacy with Cleveland Cavaliers is…complicated
Author: Chris Fedor
Publication: Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Charles Dickens once wrote the most fitting lede to describe JR Smith’s tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

That line, the opening to Dickens’ masterpiece “A Tale of Two Cities,” should be Smith’s Cleveland epitaph.

Back in 2015, when the Cavaliers were underachieving and weighing a potential trade for the mercurial shooting guard, there were warnings. Many of them. Then-GM David Griffin hesitated. His NBA family tried to explain the entire JR Smith Experience -- a rickety rollercoaster ride that comes with an abundance of risk. There was a reason few thought the New York Knicks could find a taker for Smith, why New York had to attach Iman Shumpert as incentive for the Cavaliers and why the Knicks received nothing but salary filler (Lou Amundson and Alex Kirk) along with a second-round pick in that deal.

But LeBron James had known Smith since they were teenagers. And James, as he stated following a playoff win in Atlanta a few months after Smith’s arrival, signed off on the deal. He told Griffin he would keep Smith on his best behavior.
- CLICK HERE to read full story.

J.R. leaves Cavaliers with lots of good to remember
Author: Sam Amico
Publication: Amico Hoops

J.R. Smith was many things in a Cavaliers uniform — frustrating and not engaged at his worst, a big shot-maker and the team’s most devoted defender at his best.

Smith was always good for a laugh, loved by his teammates and could make the front office feel both disappointed and proud.

Those who know Smith best will tell you he has a big heart, and despite the fame that can come with playing basketball for millions of dollars, was never too full of himself during his days in Cleveland. Rather, Smith was real, kind, charming. Mostly, he was fun.

Oh, there were those moments that no one will forget, moments only Smith could be a part of, moments that will march on in Cavaliers lore.

Who can forget when an agitated Smith threw a bowl of soup at then-assistant coach Damon Jones?
- CLICK HERE to read full story.