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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Leave it to J.R. Smith, that shining example of good judgment, to be the one player on this summer\u2019s free-agent market who failed to cash in. Smith declined a $6.4 million player option with the Cavaliers on the presumption that a better, multi-year deal could be found. It wasn\u2019t.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Not even a successful season in Cleveland could reform Smith\u2019s image to the point of making him a coveted player around the league. Smith\u2019s reputation precedes him. There have been enough cautionary tales from those coaches and executives who chose to trust him for many others\u2014including those with cap room and exceptions to spare this summer\u2014to keep cautious.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Smith, then, had no real leverage in negotiating with a Cleveland team keen on controlling salary where it can. The Cavs agreed to the full five-year max with Kevin Love and a four-year, $40 million deal with Iman Shumpert but have otherwise looked to control costs where possible. Mo Williams was signed for just $2.1 million, the value of the bi-annual exception. Matthew Dellavedova returned for the $1.2 million qualifying offer after waiting out the market and finding no better situation. Tristan Thompson, whom LeBron James is very much insistent that the Cavs keep, hasn\u2019t yet been able to use the threat of becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer to get an offer to his liking.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;\u2022 MORE NBA: Smith agrees to two-year deal&amp;nbsp;| Free agency grades&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cleveland is of such quality as a contender that it makes sense to spend for the best roster possible. The distinction is that it would be painful to spend recklessly; should the Cavs agree to a lucrative, long-term deal for Thompson on top of re-signing Smith, they would add more than $30 million in luxury tax payments alone relative to his accepting the qualifying offer. The team\u2019s total salary could conceivably top $110 million. Not only does every dollar count\u2014it counts double and triple and more as the Cavs wade into brackets with more punitive tax rates.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All of which makes the roughly $1.4 million difference between Smith\u2019s declined player option and newly agreed 2015\u201316 salary a rather big deal. Cleveland was effectively left to negotiate against itself, rewarded for taking a chance on a player most of the league had given up on.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was Smith and his representatives who elected to turn down that money in the first place, sensing the league-wide spending spree about to come. That money flowed as freely as expected. Smith merely wasn\u2019t a beneficiary, as the sum value of his deal ultimately mirrored those given to New York\u2019s Derrick Williams and Boston\u2019s Jonas Jerebko.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The only thing Smith has working to his advantage is the security of knowing he\u2019ll be a Cavalier through season\u2019s end if he prefers it. Because Smith signed what is technically a one-year contract (the second year of his new contract will be a player option) and would have Bird rights at the end of the season, he must consent to any trade that would include him. That Cleveland re-signed Smith (his total cost after luxury tax will go well into eight figures) indicates some level of commitment. Smith\u2019s ability to veto any trade he would be involved in seals his future for the year, all but ensuring that he\u2019ll be a part of a Cavs run for as long as he\u2019d like.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That might not be worth $1.4 million, though Smith could have the ability to recoup his losses by playing free agency more carefully next summer. A player option will again give Smith a choice: Accept a 2016\u201317 salary of right around $5 million or jump into the player pool just as the salary cap takes a historic leap. There will be more money next summer than teams know what to do with.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That could be the perfect dynamic for Smith, who will be no team\u2019s first choice, to find a bigger offer. It was clearly worthwhile to the Cavs to bring Smith back for next season at considerable cost. Will the same be true a year from now when Cleveland will be in line to pay the repeater tax and could add even more salary (whether by re-signing Thompson, using the Brendan Haywood trade exception, or through some other means) in the interim?\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nba/2015/08/21/jr-smith-cavaliers-knicks-nba-free-agency-lebron-james-tristan-thompson>