L.A. Lakers Looking To Fill Their Last Roster Spot

By Jordan Long

The L.A. Lakers are 46-13, 1^st in the Western Conference.  They look to improve that record tonight when they host the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers are considering signing either J.R. Smith or Dion Waiters to the roster.  They have one roster spot open.  Both worked out for the Lakers this week.

                The Lakers currently have 14 players under contract.  The most a roster can be filled in the NBA is 15.  L.A. created a spot after they waived Troy Daniels.  L.A. isn’t in a rush to fill the spot, but Smith or Waiters could fill it.

                Smith is a 16-year veteran playing for New Orleans, Denver, New York, and Cleveland.  He is familiar with playing with Lakers’ “All-Star” LeBron James.  James and Smith were teammates in Cleveland from 2015 to 2018.   If the Lakers pick him, he knows where James will be on the court to pass him the ball.  Those passes give him the chance to score points. Smith hasn’t played in the NBA since last season when he appeared in 11 games for Cleveland.

                Smith makes a lot of sense.  The majority of his career, Smith has been a bench player. His role is the 6^th man, meaning he is the first player to sub in.  Once Smith is on the court, he can shoot his team into a game or out of a game.  When he is on, Smith can make baskets anywhere on the court.  Those extend leads.  

If shots aren’t falling for Smith, he tends to keep putting those up until he makes them.  Those possessions equal rebounds for the other team to score points.  When that happens, if Smith’s team has the lead, they cut into it.  Otherwise the deficit becomes greater. 

                Waiters doesn’t have as much experience playing with James as does Smith.  Waiters was with Cleveland during the 2014-2015 season playing in  33 games.  Waiters started 3 of them while scoring 10.5 points per game.

                Waiters is just like J.R. Smith.  His role is mostly as a bench player.  Waiters can score from anywhere on the court.  When Waiters knows he is not on his game, he passes the ball for his teammates to score.  That is the main difference between Waiters and Smith.  Waiters played in 3 games this season before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on February 6^th.  He didn’t play a single minute for Memphis and was let go 3 days later.

                The Lakers are not in a hurry to plug their last roster spot.  With them in a great position to have home court throughout the Western Conference playoffs, they can play the waiting game.  They want an athlete to help increase their odds of winning an NBA title for the 1^st time since 2010.