Cleveland Cavaliers will look much different this upcoming season since they have made numerous changes to their roster. While they did lose one of their best players in Kyrie Irving, they will be arguably a much better team than they were last season. The Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in the last NBA Finals and it looked like they didn't even stand a chance against them. Now, they will be more competitive and will have a great opportunity to win another championship.
Despite losing Irving, Cleveland got his replacement in Isaiah Thomas.
They also added Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade, among other players. The Cavaliers managed to sign Rose and Wade to minimum contracts, but adding the 35-year-old shooting guard created some problems for the team. Head coach Tyronn Lue decided to make Wade a starting guard, and apparently, J.R. Smith is frustrated by this decision.
Smith is frustrated for a good reason
It was J.R. Smith who was a starting guard for the Cavaliers last season and he expected to keep the same role on the team. However, Cleveland signed Dwyane Wade a few weeks ago and Smith's starting spot was in jeopardy. Even though Wade is a proven veteran and a three-time NBA champion, Smith may be a better option for the starting lineup, but coach Lue decided to give the newly-signed guard a starting spot.
Joe Vardon of cleveland.com reported that J.R. Smith said he was absolutely frustrated that he lost his spot to Dwyane Wade. However, he made it clear that he will adjust to it. Even before Lue brought this decision, both Wade and Smith said they'd be fine with coming off the bench. "We talked about it," Smith said for cleveland.com "It wasn't the most positive conversation, but we talked about it and we'll get through it together."
Even with Wade on the roster, many fans expected Smith to retain his place on the team.
This is mostly because he provides much more spacing than Wade does, and he already fits in well. On the other side, Wade's lack of three-point shooting makes him a liability in today's NBA, especially on the Cavaliers.
Will Wade lose his starting spot?
Dwyane Wade will be a starting shooting guard at the start of the season, but that doesn't mean that J.R.
Smith won't take his spot. Anything less than a championship will be a failure for the Cleveland Cavaliers, so if it turns out that Wade doesn't fit in well, there is no doubt that he will lose his spot.
