NBA Rumors: Hope Still Floats For Smith, Lakers May Open Another Roster Spot

With Dion Waiters signed, the Los Angeles Lakers seem set for their NBA playoff run. There was only one spot open, one that occurred when the purple and gold Troy Daniels. Daniels is reportedly set to join the Denver Nuggets, meaning the 28-year-old will play on until the postseason wars.

As for the Lakers, the Waiters signing practically shut the door on J.R. Smith. That was until rumors surfaced that Los Angeles is reportedly keeping its choice open of adding another shooter, NBA Insider Shams Charania reported. However, the Lakers would need to waive another player to make that happen. As of this writing, there is no word on who that player could be.

“They worked out J.R. Smith as well on Monday, but in Waiters, there’s some familiarity. Rob Pelinka was his agent before Waiters joining the Lakers in the front office,” Charania said.

The Lakers worked out Waiters and Smith last Monday. Between the two, choosing Waiters made more sense since he did see a bit of action with the Miami Heat before he was traded and then waived. As mentioned in a previous post, the 28-year-old saw action in only averaging 9.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. However, the 6-foot-3 guard could hit shots from the outside that was seen as of more interest to the Lakers.

With LeBron James now tasked to be in charge of playmaking duties, the three-time NBA champion needs shooters he can feed on offense. Smith could be the next target since he and James are no strangers to one another. The only question now is the type of conditioning the 34-year-old swingman. He has not played since Nov. 19, 2018. There has been no feedback on how the NBA veteran performed during the workouts. But if the Lakers do open up a spot, it only means that the 6-foot-6 guard may have left a good impression as well.

The Lakers are leading the Western Conference right now with a 47-13 win-loss record. With the 2019-20 NBA season in the homestretch, the Los Angeles Clippers or the Denver Nuggets may find it tough to catch up to them. The Clippers are on a six-game winning streak but will need to pray that the Lakers stumble. At the rate things are going now for head coach Frank Vogel, there is a low chance of that happening.