As arguably the one team in the NBA more desperate than any other to get a significant upgrade in the starting lineup and off the bench, the Los Angeles Lakers have been exploring all sorts of options in the small free agent pool and via trade. The one player that seemed the most realistic option in free agency is veteran point guard Gilbert Arenas. Unfortunately, despite a promising work out last week in Los Angeles, the Lakers look like they will pass on Agent Zero.
Another free agent option for the Lakeshow that came off as incredibly desperate to Lakers fans is signing former NBA MVP Allen Iverson. The condition for Iverson was that he would have to spend some time in the NBA Development League in order for the team to evaluate if the four-time NBA scoring champion still had something left in the tank. Iverson expressed no interest in the D-League condition and therefore probably won’t end up signing with the Lakers anytime soon.
By far the best option for the Los Angeles Lakers at this point in terms of signing a free agent is without a doubt J.R. Smith formerly of the Denver Nuggets. Even though there are quite a few teams interested in signing the 26-year-old guard, the Lakers are in the mix and might have improved their chances of signing the young scoring machine after the free agent guard met with head coach Mike Brown recently.
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According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, Mike Brown has talked with J.R. Smith to discuss how the team would use him if he were to sign with the Lakers. Apparently, Brown wouldn’t just use Smith at the shooting guard position behind Kobe Bryant, but also at small forward.
Unfortunately, the Lakers can easily be outbid by other teams in the league interested in signing Smith as they can only offer a pro-rated veteran’s minimum contract which at this point is under $1 million. Even though Smith would be playing at a discount in Los Angeles, the up-and-coming guard could secure a future with the Lakers and sign a bigger deal after this season.
J.R. Smith seems excited about the prospect of playing with the Los Angeles Lakers after saying the following on Twitter via @TheRealJRSmith:
"Just had a great talk with Coach Brown!"
It appears the conversation with Mike Brown went well and as a result the Lakers may have drastically improved their chances of signing the high-scoring guard to help cure their problems on offense.
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