NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2017-18 Sixth Man of the Year Award

6. J.R. Smith

You can be guaranteed Dwyane Wade didn’t sign on with the Cleveland Cavaliers to come off the bench, and given the crummy year J.R. Smith had last season, a move to the bench would make sense on all sides. Given that Smith is a former Sixth Man of the Year winner, taking on that microwave scorer role would also be familiar territory.

Last year, the Pipe put up 8.6 points per game, but shot only 34.9 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from 3-point range. The last time he was solely in a bench role, in 2012-13, he put up a career-high 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game en route to Sixth Man of the Year honors.

That was a long time ago, and Smith is now 32 years old. But with Wade and Jae Crowder both joining the Cavs on the wing, perhaps a little less responsibility and a designated role off the bench would do wonders for Cleveland’s depth.