When Johnny Manziel was taken 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2014, a glimmer of hope was shed onto a fanbase that hadn’t won a playoff game since 1994.

After being passed over by 21 teams, Manziel sent the famous text saying he wanted to “wreck the league” in Cleveland. Minutes later, Drake’s “Draft Day” blasted through the speakers at Radio City Music Hall and arguably the most electrifying player in college football history took the stage, rubbing his fingers together in the air, an ode to the self-created “Money Manziel” brand.

Manziel had made it to the big leagues. His off-field blunders at Texas A&M were to be wiped off the record. After all, he was just a kid.

The fights, the tweets, the rejection at a rival school’s fraternity party, leaving the Manning Passing Academy early and charging money for autographs were all in the past.

The voyage of over 1,200 miles from College Station to Cleveland was supposed to be a metaphorical cleansing.

It’s been anything but that.

Manziel flipped the bird while on live television during his first preseason game against the Washington Redskins. When he did get a chance to start in his rookie year, it was pitiful to watch. In a 30–0 loss to in-state rival Cincinnati, he turned to hand the ball off to…well…nobody. Teammates anonymously questioned his work ethic and commitment to actually “wreck the league.”

Regardless, Cleveland sports fans still held Manziel on a pedestal heading into the 2015–2016 season. After all, it had to be out of his system, especially after a stint in drug and alcohol rehab, right?

Not exactly.

Manziel missed the Browns’ final regular season game after spending Saturday night partying in Las Vegas under the pseudonym “Billy” while under league concussion protocol. He’s had multiple domestic disputes with now ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley.

After an incident in Dallas, T.X. on January 30, Crowley said:

“He grabbed me by my hair and threw me back into the car and got back in himself. He hit me with his open hand on my left ear for jumping out of the car. I realized immediately that I could not hear out of that ear, and I still cannot today, two days later.”

Less than a month after signing with prestigious sports agent Drew Rosenhaus, proceeding his release from the Browns, he became the first athlete to ever be terminated in Rosenhaus’ entire career.

He called a member of the media a “pussy” on Twitter and reportedly trashed a West Hollywood mansion with drugs and broken glass.

Despite reported talks of a comeback attempt with the Denver Broncos, it doesn’t seem like Manziel has a return to the playing field on the horizon. Rather, he’s staying in a hotel for $25,000 a night and has lost enough weight that I’m not sure he could start on a high school team.

This was a player that kids idolized and stuck up for — myself included — and he let us down.

Why should Manziel be given any more attention? He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care what you think and he doesn’t care about his career. So, why should you?

He’s wrecked the league, but not in the way he and Browns fans anticipated.

He won’t be changing anytime soon.

In the same city of Cleveland, there’s Earl Joseph Smith III, more commonly known as J.R. Smith, the “suburban jump shooter” or J.R. “Swish.” Despite turning 30 years old last September, he’s one of the most boyish players in the NBA.

Going straight out of prep school and into the NBA, Smith made a name for himself with his unique athleticism and ability to finish at the rim paired with the most trigger-happy shooting touch from behind the three-point arc the league has ever seen. There’s no doubt he’s mischievous, but he’s captured the hearts of fans across the league with his selfless attitude off the court and press conference humor.

After stints in New Orleans and Denver, Smith crossed the Atlantic to play in China during the NBA lockout in 2011. He made a fraction of what his contract for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls was actually signed for. Smith reportedly missed a majority of the Golden Bulls’ practices while milking an injury to hang out with his pet panda named “Brad Garrett,” named after his favorite character from the show “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Did it really matter? Not really. He still dropped 52 points and 22 rebounds off the pine with ease.

Once his contract in China expired, the most flamboyant J.R. we’ve seen returned to the U.S., and he did so on the biggest stage: With the New York Knicks in the mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden.

Smith thrived. After finishing out 2011–2012 with the Knicks, he re-signed and became a fan favorite after being named the NBA’s “Sixth Man of the Year,” scoring 18.1 points per game and was the most important player in New York City not named Carmelo Anthony.

Not only was he a fan favorite, but he was a favorite of the media as well. He beefed with Rhianna after she called him out for being “hungover from clubbing every night” and met up with fans to ride bicycles around Times Square at 3 a.m. for no real reason at all.

This, of course, was when he wasn’t driving his $450,000 armored truck that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson drove in “Fast Five” around Manhattan.

Arguably his most memorable moment in blue and orange, though, was his attempt to “give the pipe” via Twitter DM’s, a legacy that lives on and he still jokes about to this day.

“Oh really … You trying to get the pipe?”

By the way, JRSmith.com is a website that sells pipe. It was truly meant to be.

In 2014–2015, Smith’s streaky shooting spell seemed unfixable as his stats and the Knicks’ win total dwindled. His final curtain call in the “Big Apple” was being fined $50,000 for repeatedly untying opponents shoelaces. The Knicks — not known for being the most patient franchise in the league — had enough.

Phil Jackson pulled the trigger and sent Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland for non-guaranteed contracts and a conditional second-round pick in 2019 (essentially nothing).

When he was unloaded to Cleveland, Smith told GQ that he was “petrified” and that he thought:

“The weather is gonna be horrible. There’s going to be nowhere to go out to eat. There’s going to be nowhere to party.”

Rather, Smith became born again in Cleveland.

He’s been a key contributor to the Cavaliers as their starting shooting guard, and has posted .157 win shares per 48 minutes through 13 games in the 2015–2016 playoffs.

Off the court, Smith has become a different man. He’s still mischievous and fun-loving, but now a father of two children, his responsibilities have shifted. He knows he’ll never make an all-star team and he’s okay with that. He’s fine with laughing at himself and accepting his role as being what it is.

Under the wing of LeBron James, Smith has focused on winning and maturing his play on the court without giving up the swagger and highlight reel style he’s known for. As a matter of fact, he may be more trigger happy from behind the arc as he’s ever been, and that’s the way the Cavaliers like it:

“J.R., he’s the only one on the team that has the ultra-green light. It’s like fluorescent,” said James, who was asked if he ever wanted to play a game the way Smith plays it. “Coach says, ‘Hey, J.R., shoot! Shoot, shoot it, shoot it, shoot it.’ … You’ve taken 20 before in a game haven’t you?” James asked, turning toward Smith, who was seated next to him at the podium. Indeed. It was April 6, 2014, when Smith made 10-of-22 from 3-point range for the Knicks against…. James’ Miami Heat. (Cleveland.com)

It’s not always bad to be buddies with the most valuable asset the NBA has, as Smith has reportedly been asked to star alongside James in “Space Jam 2.”

The evolution of J.R. Smith has come to a full circle. He’s been able to remain the symbol of fun in the NBA, and he accepts that role with his focus remaining on the prize. Nobody shakes their head when they hear his name. If he’s laughed at, he joins in himself. GQ writer Devin Friedman recounted a time a young fan asked Smith if he would help him improve his jump shot:

Then he says, “Wait, when you’re playing do you ever pass it?” And the kid says yes. And J.R. says, “Man, don’t pass it. Shoot! Every time you get it, shoot.” And everyone just falls out. Because that’s the bad rap on J.R.! But see, J.R. is making it okay for you to laugh at J.R

He’s not a perfectionist, and maybe Manziel isn’t either, but the balance with Smith is there. Maybe he can’t shoot from behind the arc like Steph Curry, but there’s no doubt that he’s a wild-card that can easily lose a game for Cleveland just as easily as he can win one. As an athlete and a person, Smith has realized that. He cares and his eyes are on the prize.

Manziel never had a shot. Maybe both players came from somewhat comparable backgrounds, raised in upper middle class neighborhoods, but Manziel’s entitlement to everything became his Achilles’ heel. The entitlement to start for the Browns, the entitlement then to “go to the Cowboys” when his relations in Cleveland turned sour and entitlement to play at the highest level of athletic competition became his downfall.

In a league where individuals are marketed like no other, Smith let go of making “I” his biggest concern. There’s no multi-million Nike deals and there’s no appearances in the NBA’s television commercials.

Cleveland.com once asked, “Is Cleveland big enough for J.R. Smith and Johnny Manziel?”

Apparently it wasn’t.

I think Clevelanders are OK with that.