JR Smith Publicly Requests Trade, Could be Fined

Cleveland Cavaliers veteran guard JR Smith could be about to get fined by the NBA for publicly requesting a trade.

According to EPSN, the NBA will determine whether the comments made by JR Smith on Thursday warrant a fine.

JR Smith is known to be unhappy with his playing time, and said as much to a reporter. When asked if he wanted to be traded, he said:

“Yeah. They know. They don’t want me here, so they obviously know.”

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Under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, players are not allowed to request a trade publicly.

Last year, former Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe was fined $10,000 for a tweet he sent. The tweet simply read “I don’t wanna be here.”

Read: Cavaliers Fire Head Coach Tyronn Lue After 0 – 6 Start

As it stands, Smith is out of the Cavaliers playing rotation. He has reportedly discussed the possibility of leaving the team with the front office. He would like to abstain from team activities until he can be traded.

The 33 year old is currently playing his 15th season and earning $14.7 million. He hasn’t played more than 20 minutes in a game this season. Additionally,  Smith is only averaging 2.5 points and 1 rebound per game, and has two years remaining on his contract. Apparently, the Cleveland Cavaliers are also interested in trading his fellow veteran Kyle Korver.

After the departure of LeBron James in the summer, Cleveland has been in disarray. The Cavaliers ( 1 – 7), fired head coach Ty Lue after they lost the first six games of the new season.

As well as that, they will be without All-Star forward Kevin Love for the immediate future due to a toe injury.

Cleveland lost to the Denver Nuggets 91 – 110 at home on Thursday night.