CLEVELAND: J.R. Smith believes he has found a permanent home in Cleveland –— and not just because he signed a four-year contract before the start of the season. Smith doesn’t plan on leaving Cleveland. Ever. He wants to retire here when he’s done playing.
“It makes no sense to go anywhere else,” he said. “To get treated the way we get treated here from the people, from the police, from everybody. There’s nothing but love here. I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else.”
Smith will be 34 when his current deal expires. Whether or not he keeps playing — and playing in Cleveland — remains to be seen. But he is in the process of buying a home near LeBron James’ house in Bath Township and doesn’t plan on ever leaving.
Smith isn’t surprised he likes Cleveland so much because he says it’s similar to where he grew up in southern New Jersey.
“Things are more spaced out. It’s more suburban life,” he said. “New York is New York. Obviously there’s no place like New York, but this is where I belong.”
Political activist
Smith joined LeBron James on stage Sunday campaigning for Hillary Clinton. It was his first time stepping into the political world, but he did it out of his dislike for Donald Trump.
“This situation is ridiculous that somebody like Trump can get this far saying the things he’s saying and doing the things he’s done over the course of his history with no political background,” Smith said. “That’s ridiculous. In this situation, I think everybody has to step up and say something.”
Smith was married during the offseason and has a young daughter, Demi, whom he took on stage with him at the rally. His daughter was excited to meet Clinton, just as she was excited to visit the White House recently since she won’t be able to go with the team on Thursday.
Smith has come a long way since some of the shenanigans he was famous for early in his career.
“We’ve talked about it a few times, but I try not to dwell on it because I still have a long way to go and I want to keep evolving as a person and get better,” he said. “It’s still so surreal in a sense.”
Election results
James put Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks as a secondary concern to the election and was expecting to keep the team updated on poll results as they came in.
“It’s a huge day. Not because of the candidates in it, but it’s election time. It’s who’s going to be our next president of the United States, and we feel like it’s the greatest country in the world and we need a real true leader to run it,” he said. “So, it’s a huge day for us. Basketball comes second even though we have a job to do, we will handle that business, but it definitely comes second.”
Dribbles
James began the night 30 points shy of becoming the youngest player to score 27,000 points in his career. … Kevin Love grabbed his 6,000th career rebound during the first half Tuesday. … Hawks guard Kyle Korver missed Tuesday’s game following the birth of his son. … The Hawks began the night leading the league in steals (12.2 per game) and forced turnovers (19.5 per game). They forced at least 15 turnovers in each of their first six games.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.