JR Smith Wants To Be Traded From Cleveland Cavaliers: Reports

CLEVELAND, OH — JR Smith is reportedly asking for a trade away from the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to several reports. The 33-year-old shooting guard has had an up-and-down career with the franchise, but faces a diminished role on a team undergoing a youth movement.

One day after denying a report he considered taking a leave from the team, apparently Smith has been publicly asking to be moved. Both Joe Vardon, of The Athletic, and Chris Fedor, of cleveland.com, report the shooting guard is asking for a trade.

The news of Smith wanting to bolt from the hapless Cavaliers, comes less than a full day after he denied reports from The League Tribune that he was threatening to walk away from Cleveland because his playing time had been cut.

Smith has appeared in just four of Cleveland's seven games this season, and he's averaging only 12 minutes per outing. Last year, he appeared in 80 games and averaged 28.1 minutes per outing. That's a drastic difference.

Cleveland is looking to get more playing time for younger players — namely Colin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Rodney Hood, and Jordan Clarkson on the wing. That four-man rotation at the two primary backcourt positions means there's less time for Smith on the court.

That puts management at odds with the Cavaliers collection of veteran players — Smith, Kyle Korver, and George Hill, among others. It's also additional tension in a franchise that's already struggling to determine who will be coach of the Cavaliers for the foreseeable future.

Management is refusing to restructure the contract of assistant coach Larry Drew, who is acting as the "voice" of the head coach, cleveland.com reported. That could be because Drew's track record as a head coach, while solid with Cleveland (9-1), isn't sterling overall (144-169), per Basketball-Reference.

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