Cavaliers' Lue: J.R. is 'the heart and soul of the team'

With his team gathered in Santa Barbara, Calif. for minicamp this week, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue can't help but feel a sense of unhappiness with one of his core players absent.

"The biggest thing is we miss J.R. I mean, you can feel it," Lue told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

"J.R., he's the heart and soul of team. Usually when it's anything involving the team, J.R. would be there and would be right in the middle of it. You'd hear him laughing or if it's work, he'd be out there giving it his all. It's hard."

Smith and the Cavaliers have been at an impasse since July, with the 6-foot-6 shooting guard receiving little in the way of offers and the team unwilling to pay him above his market value. Lue, Smith, and LeBron James all share the same agent (Rich Paul), putting added pressure on the Cavaliers to re-sign the 31-year-old.

"I always hope we can get something done sooner than later," Lue said. "He's our starting two guard, and when you look at what he's brought to the team the last two years, it means a lot. He's an outside shooter, obviously, and I believe he's our best defender at guard position."

Assuming the Cavaliers sign Smith within the coming weeks, Lue is optimistic as Cleveland looks to defend its title.

"Outside of not having J.R. signed, we're in a great place," Lue said. "Now being the defending world champs, we're gonna have to be better, play better."

Smith averaged 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists on 41.5 percent shooting for Cleveland last season.