The Los Angeles Lakers have been looking for someone to replace Avery Bradley since he has opted to sit out during the NBA restart of the current season. It seems like they have found their guy.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Lakers are planning to sign J.R. Smith to the team for the NBA restart.
J.R. has had quite a career. He is a 1x NBA Champion and a 1x 6MOTY. He has played for the New Orleans Hornets (now the New Orleans Pelicans), Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has career averages of 12.5 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game. He also has a 41.9 FG%.
Smith actually worked out with the Lakers in February, but they chose to sign Dion Waiters instead of Smith.
To clarify, Avery Bradley is not cut from the Lakers, he is just ineligible to play for the rest of the season. Also, some good news for the Lakers is that J.R’s contact will not go towards the salary cap.
He will provide the Lakers with more bench depth for the season restart.
One interesting thing to think about is that Smith was LeBron James’ teammate when LeBron last won an NBA Championship. Although Smith will not be a core player for the Lakers, he can still provide them an edge against strong teams. I expect Smith to be an offensive threat off the bench, possibly even a 3pt specialist. Smith can be inconsistent, but he is still a decent 3pt shooter with a career 37.3 3PT%. When he starts making his shots, he can be a game-changer.
Smith should fit very well with the Lakers, and will also have a veteran role on the team with lots of playoff experience.
If one thing is certain it is that it would awesome to see LeBron win another championship with J.R.
Photo Credit: Lakers Daily
