Cavs GM Griffin 'very confident' he'll re-sign J.R. Smith

For the second offseason in a row, the Cleveland Cavaliers are biding their time with free-agent guard J.R. Smith, who declined his player option an is once again hoping for a larger payday in free agency.

Team general manager David Griffin remains confident that the two parties will strike a deal sooner rather than later to bring the 30-year-old back to Cleveland's championship roster.

"I think the good news is J.R. wants to be here and we want J.R. back," Griffin said during the Cavaliers-Boston Celtics Summer League game on Wednesday night, according to Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes. "These things sometimes take time and he has representatives that want him to be with us as well. When the time is right something will get done. I'm very confident about that."

In possession of Smith's Bird Rights, the Cavaliers can exceed the salary cap in an effort to re-sign him. This is important considering the team already has a great deal of money wrapped up in its core.

"We do have Bird rights with him and we can do what we need to do," Griffin said. "I don't think anything else needs to happen with that."

Smith connected on a career-best 204 3-pointers during the regular season while averaging 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 30.7 minutes as a starter in the backcourt. He has expressed his love for the city and organization as a whole on numerous occasions, so it would be surprising if a deal weren't struck.

Despite a lack of financial flexibility, the Cavaliers haven't been quiet in their efforts to retool the roster. Timofey Mozgov departed to the Los Angeles Lakers, Matthew Dellavedova was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks in a sign-and-trade deal, and Mike Dunleavy was acquired from the Chicago Bulls to add some scoring to a second unit which ranked 29th in points.

The Cavaliers are also awaiting a decision from four-time Most Valuable Player LeBron James, who has yet to inform the team when he'll ink his new contract.