NBA Rumors: Mo Williams’ Retirement Could Help Cavs Re-Sign J.R. Smith

By Carlo Monzon
Mo Williams
Mo Williams with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Flickr/Keith Allison

According to new reports, this could be Mo Williams' last week with the Cleveland Cavaliers since he is already thinking about retiring from the NBA. But, if the back-up point guard decides to retire, then this will give the Cavs the necessary resources to finally re-sign J.R. Smith.

As reported by Cleveland.com, league sources claimed that 33-year-old Williams is already considering retiring. But, he should finalize his decision before Aug. 31 since this is the "stretch" deadline of the NBA where teams could use the remaining salary of waived players for over a period of years.

Williams may not be as popular as the superstars of Cavs such as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving but this veteran athlete has been in the league for 13 years already. He started his career with the Utah Jazz before bouncing around in various teams including the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte Hornets, according to CBS Sports.

But, even though he's a back-up he was still able to play a pivotal role during the 2016 NBA Finals series.

If Williams retires on or before Aug. 31, then the Cavs will be able to use his remaining salary for the 2016-2017 season, which is about $2.2 million, and stretch it for the next couple of years.

Doing so will allow the team to put a significant dent on the heavy luxury tax that it has to settle for the last season. But more importantly, it will give the Cavs the extra money to finally close a new contract with Smith.

Currently, Smith is the only top free agent available on the market. Despite his contributions during the finals, he has not yet seen and signed a contract with the Cleveland organization.

According to reports, this is because Smith is reportedly asking for a high salary from the team, which is around $15 million per season. For the Cavs, this value is way too high even after they signed James. The team already reportedly offered Smith a contract worth $11 million per year but he refused it because it was too low for him.

But with $2.2 million at their disposal, the Cavs could use this to increase their offer in order to retain Smith on their roster. Hopefully, negotiations between him and the team will go well.

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