Los Angeles Lakers rumors: J.R. Smith could join team after buyout

The NBA draft has come and gone, but the drama isn’t over yet for the Lakers. Looking to add more depth to the roster, the recent Lakers rumors point toward a potential deal with JR. Smith.

There have been plenty of Los Angeles Lakers rumors popping up about how the team will fill out their roster. An interesting name popped up recently.

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Chris Haynes, an NBA Insider, said J.R. Smith is likely to end up with the Lakers.

"Cleveland, right now, they are trying to trade J.R. Smith. Whichever team trades for JR right now, most likely he will be waived. And when he’s waived, it’s my belief that he will end up with the Lakers."

Smith is, of course, a past teammate of Lakers’ star, LeBron James. Together on the Cleveland Cavaliers, they came back from a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors.

However, he has essentially been inactive in the NBA for the 2018-2019 season. The Cavaliers have been looking to trade him since the beginning of the season. He suffered a toe injury, as well as showed disinterest in the Cavaliers rebuilding process post-LeBron.

He played 11 games this season, missing the first return of James to Cleveland after becoming a Laker. After announcing they were planning to trade Smith, the Cavaliers kept him around, even passing the trade deadline on February 7, 2019.

Now that the season has come to an end, the Cavaliers are actually looking to get something in return for Smith. If he is traded by the end of the month, he will likely get waived, as Haynes said.

https://twitter.com/YahooSports/status/1143615973783678976

Only $3.8 million of his $16 million contract is guaranteed, so he would be fairly easy financially to acquire.

As far as his contribution to the court is concerned, Smith, of course, had an unproductive season with only 11 games played. That isn’t to say that he can’t find success with the Lakers, especially with James by his side.

Two of his three top real plus/minus seasons were on the Cavaliers, with +5.1 and +4.0 in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively.

The Lakers will need to see him contribute on defense as well as improve his overall shooting percentages. That being said, he will be a financially responsible choice to add depth at small forward and shooting guard, and has established chemistry with LeBron James.