NBA Trade Rumors: JR Smith Future Looking Bleaker With No Buyout In Sight

J.R. Smith is likely done for the season and will have to wait until the 2019-20 NBA season to find out where he will be playing next. The Cleveland Cavaliers have no intention to buy him out, meaning he is unlikely to be available to playoff-bound teams.

It remains to be seen how this will affect Smith moving forward. But the decision of the Cavs not to buy him out seems to be of mutual interest. Apparently Smith does not want to go that route as well, preferring to leave Cleveland with his legacy intact, The Athletic reported.

"I don't think that's fair to the people I see every single day walking around the arena. I don't think that's fair to the trainers or equipment guys. ... I just look at it differently than being traded. I don't like the statement of getting bought out."

Before the NBA trade deadline last Feb. 7, there were several teams allegedly interested in getting the 33-year-old swingman. Teams expected to make the postseason wars are trying to fill up key positions, the most common of which is the wing. Smith has proven that he can still light it up from the outside at times and play good defense as well. His decision-making and tantrums leave a lot to be desired, meaning the coaching staff will need to keep him in check.

With no buyout happening, Smith will have to spend the next couple of months in the sidelines. Come the offseason, the next concern by interested teams is his conditioning. He has been out since November after criticizing direction that the rebuilding Cavs were headed. He claimed that the goal was not to win for the team to get better odds on lottery picks in another report from the Athletic.

By June, it means that Smith will have sat out for nearly eight months. There is no update on how the one-time NBA champion is keeping himself in shape. He could take it easy for now but may need to work on that once he is traded or worked out by interested NBA teams.

Compared to the interest he has right now, all that could change in the summer as well. There are plenty of big name free agents plus the 2019 NBA Draft coming up, meaning ballclubs will have wider options to beef up their rosters. His value could dip, yet another issue that could hound the 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year awardee.