The Paparazzi picked the right one in J.R. Smith, and they caught up to him at a most opportune time on Thursday night, September 21, as it was clear as day that he was intoxicated as he waited for his ride outside of Poppy in West Hollywood. Smith went back and forth with reporters, calling them out for attempting to shake a story out of him for their own monetary benefit, and even trading an insult or two on the fashion choices of those standing opposite him. But when all was said and done, the media got its way, when Smith caved into a photographer who prodded him with: "LeBron's gone man. Deal with it."
"LeBron's still here. He's still here," Smith went about slurring in the moments prior to him making it to his car. He was then asked whether he thinks LBJ will be heading a Los Angeles Lakers team come next Summer, to which Smith responded: "I think Lebron's gonna be at wherever the f**k he wanna be at."
Questions of LeBron's future with the team have been floating around in the press since former Cavs general manager David Griffin stepped down. Back in August some credibility was lent to rumors that James had his sights set on a 2018 exit when sports writer Chris Sheridan, who predicted his return to Cleveland from Miami in 2014, called it that the coming season "will be LeBron's final season in Cleveland." Sheridan went on to claim that his impending departure has to do with his James' relationship with Dan Gilbert being "beyond repair." James is yet to have refuted the rumors.
