INDEPENDENCE, Ohio _ Seeking to vent and saying he was "absolutely" frustrated after losing his starting spot to Dwyane Wade on Monday, Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith told Cleveland.com he commiserated with Tristan Thompson.
Thompson was shifted to the second unit as coach Tyronn Lue installed Kevin Love as the starting center earlier in training camp and moved new Cav Jae Crowder into Love's spot at power forward.
Smith and Thompson started as the Cavs went to three consecutive NBA Finals and won the championship in 2016.
"It wasn't the most positive conversation, but we talked about it and we'll get through it together," Smith told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com of his talk with Thompson.
Smith told Vardon after the Cavs' preseason loss to the Chicago Bulls Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena that he was "bracing" for the switch. When the Cavs signed 12-time All-Star Wade on Sept. 27, Smith spoke about players being forced to put their egos aside when signing with the Cavs.
But Smith can't escape the similarities to his time with the New York Knicks, he told Vardon. Smith was the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2012-13, his second with the Knicks, when he averaged career highs in points (18.1) and rebounds (5.3) in 33.5 minutes per game. By 2014-15, he was down to 10.5 minutes, although he averaged 10.9 points, and was traded to the Cavs on Jan. 5.
Smith has been a starter since his second game with the Cavs.
