Cavaliers, J.R. Smith Agree to New Contract

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images(CLEVELAND) – The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a four-year, $57 million deal with shooting guard J.R. Smith, according to ESPN.

In an online video posted Friday, Smith says he’s pleased the deal is finished and he can focus on basketball. The two sides had been locked in a stalemate throughout the first three weeks of training camp.

Smith averaged 12.4 points and hit 204 3-pointers for the NBA champion Cavaliers last season.

“It’s great news,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “Any time you get your starting 2-guard back — [he was] a big part of what we did the last two years. It means a lot, so hopefully we get the contract signed and we’ll be going in the right direction.”

The new deal will increase Cleveland’s payroll to $125 million for the season which will result in a $30 million luxury-tax bill.

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