Lakers Rumors: JR Smith Wouldn't Upgrade Rotation in Avery Bradley's Absence

The Los Angeles Lakers may have interest in free agent JR Smith, particularly since Avery Bradley is choosing to sit out the league's restart in late July at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, but it's hard to imagine the veteran guard helping them much. 

On June 24, Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reported that "[Dion] Waiters worked out the same day that the Lakers got a look at Smith, who also played well in his audition. According to people familiar with their plans, the Lakers have had some conversations about adding Smith now that Bradley has opted not to play."

The question isn't whether Smith can adequately replace Bradley. He can't. If he could, he'd likely already be signed to a team. And Bradley was excellent for the Lakers, providing both solid on-ball defense and solid perimeter shooting (36.4 percent from three). 

The question is whether Smith would be an upgrade over any of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso or Waiters coming off the bench (assuming one of those players will slot into the starting lineup next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Danny Green and JaVale McGee). 

Caldwell-Pope is likely to take that fifth slot. He's already started 20 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 11.1 points while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and 43.4 percent from three in those games.

It's likely he wouldn't supplant Caruso, who has carved out a nice niche for himself on the Lakers, getting 17.8 minutes per game. Caruso isn't just a meme for Lakers fans—he's a legitimately important part of the team's rotation.  

The wild card, of course, is Waiters, who signed with the team in early March. He hasn't gotten any game time with the team and played just three games in the 2019-20 campaign for the Miami Heat. In 44 games last season, he averaged 12 points and 2.8 assists per game. 

Waiters has always been able to score, and his lack of playing time this season may not be as big of a factor heading into the restart as it was in March, given all players are coming off a long layoff. And Waiters will probably be the third option at the 2 anyway.

So the question comes down to whether you'd take Smith over Waiters. Smith offers more postseason experience and has spent time playing with James. Waiters is six years younger and the better scoring option at this point (in Smith's last full season in 2017-18 he averaged 8.3 points per game). 

If you want someone who can get you buckets off the bench, Waiters is the call. Smith may offer more defense and perimeter shooting, though he's also played a total of 11 games in the past two seasons. He'd have a lot of rust to knock off the proverbial tires. 

He just doesn't seem like an addition the Lakers really need. They have good enough options at the 2 as currently constructed, or at least options that Smith wouldn't improve upon. It's hard to imagine he would play much of a role for the Lakers if he signed with them.