J.R. Smith is cool with being called ‘Kyrie,’ under one condition
Kyrie Irving’s return to the court after more than six months on the shelf due to a fractured left kneecap was obviously the single biggest storyline of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Sunday meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers, to the point where discussion of Kyrie’s comeback played a prominent role in FOX Sports Ohio’s halftime interview with J.R. Smith … a more prominent role than sideline reporter Allie Clifton initially intended it to:
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Clifton instantly realizes her slip of the tongue and corrects herself, and J.R. responds pitch-perfectly: “I’ll be Kyrie. Let me get paid like Kyrie, too.”
You’ll recall that Smith’s attempt to secure a big-time payday this summer didn’t end particularly well. After opting out of the final season of his previous contract, which would have paid him nearly $6.4 million this year, in search of more lucrative offers, but found a cool market for his services and wound up back in Cleveland on a two-year, $10 million deal with a player option for the 2016-17 season. (Smith did get a no-trade clause in the bargain.) That’s still great money, of course, but with Irving pulling down more than $16 million in the first season of the five-year, $94 million maximum-salary contract extension he signed last summer, you can understand why J.R. wouldn’t mind too much if the Cavaliers’ payroll department mistook him for Irving, either.
And hey, for what it’s worth, Smith offered a bit of Kyrie-ish playmaking during the Cavaliers’ largely drama-free 108-86 destruction of the 76ers, lofting a picture-perfect lob for a very loud finish by LeBron James:
Smith finished with eight points, four assists, two rebounds and one steal in 22 minutes of work in a game in which Cleveland led by as many as 35 points, breezing to a fifth-straight win that improved their Eastern Conference-best record to 18-7. James led all scorers with 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting with five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block, while Irving shook off a 1-for-6 start to finish with 12 points, four assists, two steals and a rebound in 17 minutes, occasionally looking like the devastating offensive player he was before suffering his season-ending knee injury:
After the game, Irving’s teammates had a bit of fun with him as he tried to conduct his walkoff interview with Clifton:
Credit to all involved for keeping their composure, getting all the names right, and not inadvertently giving J.R. Smith an extra $11 million in the process.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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