Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons Dion Waiters was right choice over J.R. Smith
By Robert Marvi
On Monday, March 2, the Los Angeles Lakers worked out both Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith. After waiving guard Troy Daniels the previous day, they ended up signing Waiters on March 5.
We are not that far away from the 2020 NBA Playoffs, and this year, the Los Angeles Lakers will finally be participating in them! Not only that, but they seem to have an excellent chance of winning the world championship for the first time in 10 years.
After being criticized for some bad and questionable moves his first two years as general manager, Rob Pelinka has assembled a very strong roster this season. Not only did he add the 3-point shooters the Lakers were lacking last year, but he also took a chance on Dwight Howard. Howard has been one of the best, if not the best role player on this squad.
Just recently, Pelinka also signed Markieff Morris after he was waived by the Detroit Pistons. He’s only played four games for the Purple and Gold as of this writing, but so far he’s helped the team with his 3-point shooting, inside scoring and physicality on the defensive end.
Now, as we head into the stretch run of the season, the Lakers have signed guard Dion Waiters. The frontcourt is rock solid, but their backcourt isn’t the strongest in the league. The Waiters signing is meant to change that.
Earlier this week, the team worked out both Waiters and J.R. Smith. The Lakers took a few days to ponder who would be the better choice, and finally went with Waiters.
Both have the game to help solidify the Lakers’ championship chances, but they both have serious question marks. Both have played with LeBron James before, although Smith spent nearly four seasons with James, while Waiters played just half a season with him.
That would have seemed to be an advantage for Smith, as chemistry has been a huge factor for this Lakers team this season.
I’m not crazy about either one of them, but, in my opinion, Waiters will help the team more than Smith would’ve.
Here are three reasons why Waiters was the right choice over Smith for the Los Angeles Lakers.