BREAKING: Cleveland Cavaliers Reportedly Sign Former NBA 1st-Round Pick

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Cleveland Cavaliers will sign Zhaire Smith.

Zhaire Smith was initially the 16th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of Texas Tech. 

He played just one season of college basketball for the Red Raiders and helped them reach the Elite 8. 

The 24-year-old most recently played in the NBA during the 2019-20 season when he appeared in seven games for the Philadelphia 76ers and averaged 1.1 points per contest. 

On Friday, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that Smith will now sign a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Via Scotto: "The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Zhaire Smith, agent Adie von Gontard of @YMAPAAsports told @hoopshype. Smith was the No. 16 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft."

The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Zhaire Smith, agent Adie von Gontard of @YMAPAAsports told @hoopshype. Smith was the No. 16 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft.

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 15, 2023

Smith has only appeared in 13 regular season NBA games (with the 76ers) and has career averages of 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds per contest while shooting 37.8% from the field and 31.6% from the three-point range. 

He also played in two NBA playoff games during the 2019 season. 

Go on now @zhaire_smith. pic.twitter.com/NAwSzwWKnT

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 19, 2019

This summer, Smith played in the NBA Summer League for the Oklahoma City Thunder and averaged 3.8 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per contest while shooting 50% from the field. 

🏀 FINAL SCORE THREAD 🏀

Tre Mann leads the @okcthunder to victory in the Salt Lake City Summer League!

Ousmane Dieng: 22 PTS, 10 REB, 3 STL
Zhaire Smith: 16 PTS, 6-6 FGM
Jared Butler: 9 PTS, 5 AST, 3 STL pic.twitter.com/TKfK3bxVmS

— NBA (@NBA) July 7, 2023

As for the Cavs, they are coming off a year where they were the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 51-31 record. 

They made the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 2018 season (when LeBron James was still on the roster) but lost to the New York Knicks in the first round.