LeBron says J.R., Cavs need to get a deal done: 'We just miss him'

For a second straight year, the Cleveland Cavaliers entered training camp with a key player missing, and the cloud of a holdout hanging over them.

Last year, it was big man Tristan Thompson, whose contract standoff with the team dragged well into October. This time around, it's shooting guard J.R. Smith, an unrestricted free agent who's yet to sign a deal despite purportedly receiving an "incredibly aggressive" offer from the Cavs and seemingly having no other serious suitors.

Smith, like Thompson, is represented by Rich Paul, longtime friend and agent of LeBron James. Because of his relationship with Paul and his indispensability to the Cavs, there's a tacit assumption that James wields a certain measure of influence in the negotiations. As he did last year, James denied that that's the case.

"I haven't been part of any negotiations, from the office side or the agent side," he told reporters Friday. That didn't stop him from voicing his displeasure.

"I hate coming into another season, two years in a row, and one of my big guns is not here. For the leader of a team, for me personally, I just hate to deal with this shit again. He's just too big of a piece to our team. Hopefully things get resolved fast."

Without explicitly taking a side, James gave Smith a strong vote of confidence for his role in the Cavs' incredible championship run this past spring, and urged the two sides to work out a deal as soon as possible.

"Negotiations is always two-sided, but J.R. did his part," James said. "J.R. did his part. Showed up every day, worked his ass off every day, became a two-way player, model citizen in Cleveland. He's a fan favorite, obviously, we all know that. All of a sudden now he's a season-ticket holder at the Indians games.

"We just miss him, man. We miss having him around. Like I said he's a big piece of our team, and they just need to get it done."

Smith averaged 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals for the Cavs last season, while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. He averaged 11.5 points and shot 43 percent from deep in the playoffs.