Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players on the hot seat during the Orlando bubble

Los Angeles Lakers on the hot seat: J.R. Smith

J.R. Smith was signed by the Los Angeles Lakers as a replacement player after it was announced that Avery Bradley would not be rejoining the team in Orlando. This was a big-news move, as Smith is a big-name player who has familiarity with LeBron James.

It is that familiarity with LeBron James that has led people to overvalue what Smith brings to the table. Smith was really bad the last time that we saw him in the league and he has not played since November of 2018.

That is 20 months without professional basketball for a guy who was already playing well below league average when we last saw him.

While personally I hope Smith is just a “break glass in case of emergency” option, he likely will get his chance to earn a playoff rotation spot, especially with three scrimmage games before the eight seeding games.

Even in the eight seeding games, Smith is going to have more opportunities as those games do not matter much for the Lakers result-wise.

Smith is on the hot seat in the bubble not just because he is earning a rotation spot on a contending team but because he could be playing for a new contract, whether it is with the Lakers or outside of LA.

A strong showing in Orlando will lead to teams being interested and there will be playoff teams calling Smith to make him a part of the rotation. Of course, if he goes out and struggles then it just might be the end of his NBA career.

It was smart for the Los Angeles Lakers to bring in depth, although the decision on who they brought in certainly can be debated. Either way, Smith is on the hot seat in Orlando.