James handles the ball in the paint before dumping it off to Tristan Thompson who sends it sky high for a layup in the third quarter against the Nuggets.
| 00:08
JR Smith has little to say regarding his suspension for throwing a bowl of soup at Damon Jones, as he's ready to return to playing basketball. (0:49)
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith addressed his one-game soup-throwing suspension Saturday, admitting that even he found the internet's meme-mania reaction to be humorous.
"Some of them were actually pretty funny," Smith said. "I understand that everything I do is going to have a meme or whatever behind it. That's just part of the day and age we live in. If this was 15 years ago, nobody would have even knew. It's just part of the game."
Smith was suspended for the Cavs' 108-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers for throwing a bowl of soup at assistant coach Damon Jones on Thursday, multiple sources with knowledge of the incident told ESPN.
Editor's Picks JR Smith's soup suspension sends Twitter into a frenzy Basketball Twitter had a field day with jokes after it was reported that JR Smith's Thursday night suspension was for throwing a bowl of soup at Cavs assistant coach Damon Jones.
Cavs' Love taking shots, hoping for early return The Cavs' Kevin Love, halfway through his 8-week projected return from a fractured bone in his left hand, wants to return sooner than that. "I'm hoping that's the case," he said. 1 Related
Smith opted not to speak to the media Friday and offered little illumination Saturday when asked about what happened between him and Jones that led to the soup toss.
When asked what further detail he could provide about the incident, Smith replied, "Nothing."
He didn't even share what type of soup it was.
"Uh," Smith said, "honestly I don't even remember."
Smith would not say whether he believed the act deserved a suspension or not.
"It's not really my call," Smith said. "More than anything, I talked to my teammates about it, everybody seemed cool. We moved on from it as a team, so whether it warranted a suspension or not, that's not my job. I'm just here to play basketball."
But not here to watch basketball, apparently. Smith didn't bother to tune into the loss to the Sixers when he was suspended.
"I didn't watch the game," Smith said. "When I'm not a part of the game, it's hard for me to watch -- and that's whether I'm watching somebody else or watching my team. I don't watch basketball in my spare time."
Smith also said he did not have any specific conversation with Jones in the days that have passed.
The 14-year-veteran was asked if the incident had anything to do with his season-long struggles on the court. He's averaging 8.3 points on 39.1 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from 3-point range.
"I have an idea of what I want to say, but I'm not going to say it, so I'm going to leave that as it is," Smith said.
LeBron James took a similar tact when asked on Saturday if he attempted to broker and peace between Smith and Jones.
"Ain't got nothing to do with me," James said. "No. Momma told me a long time ago to mind your business. Stay out of grown folks' business that ain't got nothing to do with me. That's what I did."
The Cavs host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and will try to recapture the momentum they had by going 2-0 with their new-look team at the start -- a stark contrast to their 2-3 record since the All-Star break.
"Just getting out there with my team and trying to get back on the right path," Smith said when asked what was on his mind. "We lost a game that, you know, we definitely could have won or should have won and just trying to get back out there."
James offered an endorsement of Smith, one of the four remaining members from the Cavs' 2016 championship team along with himself, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.
"Well, I think he knows how important he is to our ball club," James said. "Both offensively and defensively since he got here. ... We know it's been a challenging year for him, but we expect for him to be there when we need him."
Smith said that he understands that the soup suspension compromises his leadership position as one of the championship members of the team.
"It just sucks to be going through a process that we're going through right now with myself to be looked at ... to be looked at as one of the leaders and one of the heads of this team and to be going through this situation," Smith said. "But everybody has their ups and downs. I can't say I hope they learn from my mistakes, I just hope they don't do it. But it definitely puts perspective for the younger guys."
Smith already learned from one of his own mistakes when he walked off the court while the ball was in play to greet Jason Terry during a road game against the Milwaukee Bucks last season.
With that mistake in mind, he does not plan to engage with former teammate Richard Jefferson -- who will be making his first return to Cleveland after being traded to Denver -- during the game.
"I'm going to try not to, actually," Smith said. "Talking to him gets you really distracted, and as you all know I'm not too good with that with guys on the sideline. I'll try to talk to him after and before the game."
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers are eager to see an old face on Saturday night, a beloved former teammate who likely would have helped them lighten the mood in a locker room that often became contentious during the first few months of a rocky regular season.
Richard Jefferson, now with the Denver Nuggets, will return to Quicken Loans Arena for the first time since being traded in an October roster-clearing move.
"I'm actually really excited," JR Smith said following shootaround Saturday morning. "I know he's going to have a lot of jokes. We've gone back and forth with him and Channing (Frye) in our group chat. It's going to be interesting, but I'm excited to see him."
More than likely, Jefferson will come armed with some soup quips, as Smith was suspended for Thursday's loss against the Philadelphia 76ers after tossing soup at Cavaliers assistant Damon Jones.
Smith didn't go into much detail about the incident when addressing reporters Saturday morning, but admitted some of the social media chatter was actually pretty funny. He also mentioned understanding that many of his incidents -- on and off the court -- tend to turn into memes.
That's why, despite being happy about Saturday's reunion with Jefferson, Smith is going to do his best -- no guarantees, of course -- to ignore the jokester who came up with Lil Kev and other fun activities while in Cleveland.
"Talking to him gets you really distracted and as you all know I'm not too good with that with guys on the sideline," Smith said in a hilarious reference to his on-court greeting with Jason Terry of the Bucks last season, causing the Cavaliers to give up a basket. "I'll try to talk to him after and before the game."
Even though he's with the Nuggets now, the Cavs still have fond memories of R.J. and repeatedly mention his importance during their championship season.
Just like in Cleveland, he's playing an important leadership role on a team that hasn't been to the postseason since the 2011-12 season.
He was part of the Cavaliers' roster overhaul following a decisive NBA Finals loss against the Golden State Warriors last June. That purge continued at the trade deadline, as the Cavs brought in four new players while sending away six, a few of which had close ties to Jefferson.
LeBron James even joked that Jefferson won't recognize too many Cavaliers when making his postgame visit following the game.
"It's a little bit of change of furniture or change of scenery around here," James said. "I mean listen, any time you get to see an old teammate but a friend, like a real friend, it always brings back so many memories, both on and off the floor. So it's pretty cool."
