Lakers News: Anthony Davis Discusses Team Chemistry with JR Smith, Dion Waiters

When the Los Angeles Lakers hit the floor as the NBA resumes the 2019-20 season at the end of July, Anthony Davis will have a couple of new teammates.

Dion Waiters signed with the Western Conference leaders in early March but didn't make an appearance before the league paused as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. And after Avery Bradley decided he wouldn't join the team at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida, the Lakers added veteran guard JR Smith.

While it's true neither Waiters nor Smith is the "final piece" of a championship contender—Los Angeles is that already—the entire roster needs to get comfortable playing together.

Following the team's practice Sunday, Davis addressed what must happen with his new teammates.

Prior to the stoppage, the Lakers put together a 49-14 record—the second-best in the NBA behind only the Milwaukee Bucks.

The talent remains the same, and Los Angeles has a definite edge against most teams in that crucial department. However, a four-month layoff renders most everything that happened before mid-March practically useless. The cohesion Davis mentioned has largely vanished, and stats cannot be expected to continue on trend.

All 22 teams in the NBA's bubble are basically starting from scratch. For the Lakers, that also involves two new faces. Waiters and Smith previously played with LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that's about it for familiarity.

The new reserve guards must implement the offense, learn rotations on defense and understand their teammates' tendencies.

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

Along with the rest of the league, the season-long Lakers need a refresher with each other too.

In fairness, Waiters and Smith are unlikely to hold significant roles. Even without Bradley, the Lakers will largely turn to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso to fill that void, and Rajon Rondo once he recovers from a fractured right thumb.

"Obviously both of them are super talented, and they can play, and they can contribute, and they can help," head coach Frank Vogel said of Waiters and Smith, per Sabreena Merchant of Silver Screen and Roll. "But we have a great deal of depth even without Avery on our team at the wing spot."

Vogel also acknowledged it's possible both Waiters and Smith might not play on certain nights.

"But they'll have opportunities in those seeding games to show what they do and how they fit into this group," he said.

The Lakers will resume the season July 30 against Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers. Entering the restart, the Lakers need a combination of three wins and Clippers losses to secure the No. 1 seed in the West.

In short, the Lakers have every reason to expand the rotation to have Waiters and Smith clean up some minutes.

The next two weeks, though, are a critical time for the latest additions to get comfortable playing alongside Davis, LeBron and the rest of the championship-chasing Lakers.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR