Lakers Rumors: Dion Waiters Had 'Impressive Showing' at Workout with LA

Dion Waiters finished his workout with the Los Angeles Lakers and "had an impressive showing," according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reported Waiters also met with head coach Frank Vogel, general manager Rob Pelinka and team adviser Kurt Rambis.

According to Charania, Waiters "owned up to his mistakes and errors" from his time with the Miami Heat and made it clear he was willing to accept any role in L.A.:

The Lakers are desperate to find some secondary scoring to ignite the offense when LeBron James is on the bench. Los Angeles was unable to make any significant additions ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, and signing Markieff Morris didn't really address the problem.

Darren Collison also chose to remain retired rather than return to the NBA.

Waiters' workout and Smith's session illustrate how few options Pelinka has at his disposal.

Waiters has received three suspensions this season, a number equal to his games played for the Heat before they traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies, who are contending for the playoffs, were content to eat the almost $24.8 million remaining on his contract rather than have him suit up for the team.

When healthy, Waiters can be an effective scorer in a limited role. He averaged 12.0 points and shot 37.7 percent from beyond the arc in 44 games for the Heat in 2018-19.

Smith, meanwhile, hasn't played a competitive game since Nov. 19, 2018. No matter what the 34-year-old has been doing to stay in shape, his long layoff will make it hard to get him back up to speed, especially on a new team with so little time left in the regular season.

Smith has the edge in playoff experience and was an impactful member of the Cleveland Cavaliers' rotation when they won a championship in 2016. But his blunder in Game 1 of the 2018 Finals is the lasting image many fans have of his Cavs tenure.

Both Waiters and Smith carry a level of risk for the Lakers. All things considered, the former might be the better bet.