With the trade deadline passing for the Los Angeles Lakers, recent Lakers rumors have been about their interest in J.R. Smith.
Despite plenty of Lakers rumors, the Los Angeles Lakers ended up staying put when the trade deadline came and went.
Even though the Lakers didn’t make a move, there was some interest in Knicks forward Marcus Morris. However, the Los Angeles Clippers had more appealing assets to offer the Knicks, and they ended up with Morris.
The Morris situation shows that the Lakers and the Clippers are clearly in an arms race for the top spot in the Western Conference. While the NBA Trade Deadline has passed, these teams will be competing for free agents and buyout candidates.
According to Marc Stein, the Lakers will reportedly be holding a workout for J.R. Smith sometime next week.
The Lakers are expected to give free agent guard JR Smith a post-trade deadline audition (perhaps as soon as next week) and remain favorites to sign Darren Collison if Collison elects to make a comeback to the NBA -- in addition to potential pickups on the buyout market
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 6, 2020
The Lakers showing some interest in J.R. Smith certainly is interesting. Smith has not played in the NBA this season, but he is a player with a lot of playoff experience, and also has experience playing with LeBron James.
After barely playing last season, the workout will really tell what kind of game Smith still has left. However, throughout his career, Smith has been a good 3-point shooter and is also a playmaker. These are two things that the Lakers do desire, so it can’t hurt to give Smith a look.
While Smith is famously known for his blunder in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, he was a player not too long ago that played a large role on some championship level Cavaliers teams.
As we head into the post-deadline time frame, it will be interesting to see how the Lakers retaliate to the Clippers getting Morris. Darren Collison seems like he should be priority No.1 for the Lakers, as he checks a lot of boxes. However, the Lakers might be looking to add even more than just Collison. We will have to wait and see what happens over the next few days and weeks, but the Lakers could have a different looking roster soon despite not making any trades.