Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on JR Smith Interest, DeMarcus Cousins' Future

The 2019-20 NBA season is expected to resume in late July. Of the league's 30 teams, 22 have been invited to Orlando to finish the regular season and complete the playoffs, which includes the Los Angeles Lakers. However, they'll be without one of their key players.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, guard Avery Bradley is opting out of playing during the resumption of the season, instead staying home with his wife and three children. The 29-year-old averaged 8.6 points over 49 games this season, 44 of which were starts.

Now, Los Angeles will have to decide what to do with the empty spot on its roster before the season returns.

Here's some of the latest buzz surrounding the Lakers as the NBA's return to play gets closer.

Smith could be replacement for Bradley

One of LeBron James' former teammates could be coming to Los Angeles to fill Bradley's roster spot.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday night that free-agent guard JR Smith had "emerged as a leading candidate" to replace Bradley. Smith has played 15 NBA seasons with the Hornets, Nuggets, Knicks and Cavaliers, but he hasn't played since last suiting up for Cleveland in November 2018.

Smith, who will turn 35 in September, played with James from 2015-18 on the Cavs, which included winning the NBA title in 2016. Smith played 11 games for Cleveland at the start of the 2018-19 season (after James had left for Los Angeles) and averaged 6.7 points per contest before the team decided to part ways with him after he had requested to be traded.

According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers worked out Smith in February before they decided to sign Dion Waiters. He also noted Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will likely have bigger roles in Bradley's absence, so it's unclear how much Los Angeles would need Smith to play.

Smith would provide another veteran presence for the Lakers, though, as he's been a solid role player over 971 career games in the NBA. He won the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2012-13 while with the Knicks, and he averaged double digits in points in 11 of his first 12 seasons.

Wojnarowski reported there will be more discussions between Los Angeles president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and Smith's agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, after talks began Tuesday night.

What's next for Cousins?

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

DeMarcus Cousins signed with the Lakers in July, then got waived in February. He never played a game for them during that time because of a torn left ACL he suffered before the start of the season. However, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times wrote, Cousins continued to use Lakers facilities for rehab and remained part of the team's group texts. 

With the season getting closer to resuming, Cousins continues to get closer to playing. But there's some contradictory buzz about whether the 29-year-old center would consider playing in Orlando later this summer. The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania tweeted Tuesday that teams have been told Cousins will sit out and keep getting ready for 2020-21, but Ganguli wrote the same day that Cousins' agent, Jeff Schwartz, has not ruled out his client signing with a team and playing. Schwartz did note that it'd "have to be a situation in which he feels comfortable to play."

Charania's tweet also mentioned that multiple teams have "expressed interest" in Cousins, so it might not just be the Lakers pursuing him whenever the time comes for Cousins to return to action.

Cousins is a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection who has played nine seasons for the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors. He's only played 78 games over his previous two seasons, though, which included only 30 during his time with Golden State in 2018-19.

But when Cousins is healthy, he's a dominant center, so it makes sense that teams have interest in him following his ACL rehab. And if he's looking for a "comfortable" spot, perhaps Los Angeles will be the place for him.