Los Angeles Lakers: 3 roster questions heading into the restart

(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images).
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images). /
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Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

Lakers roster questions: Should J.R. Smith play?

J.R. Smith last played in the NBA almost two years ago.

Smith suited up for the first 11 games of the 2018-2019 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 6.7 points per game while shooting 34 percent from the field. On November 19, the Cavs shut “J.R. Swish” down, even though he wasn’t injured. The Cavs front office tried to trade the Lakers’ new shooting guard but were unsuccessful.

Smith ended up sitting the entire season on Cleveland’s bench, getting an up-close view as his teammates floundered their way through the season, eventually finishing with a record of 19-63.

Smith entered the 2019 offseason as a free agent, but no squad signed him. J.R. had to watch his second season in a row from the sidelines, although this time it was from the comfort of his favorite reclining chair.

No matter how much he wanted to jump back into the NBA, no team made an offer until Rob Pelinka signed him on July 1.

As a sports fan, it’s easy to look back on a player’s past exploits and envision an older version of him recreating the same magic again. This type of thinking is folly, though. There’s going to be plenty of speculation about J.R. Smith’s role on the Lakers, especially because Rajon Rondo’s thumb injury further depletes LA’s guard rotation.

No team came close to signing Smith during the summer of 2019 for a reason. Smith is two months away from his 35th birthday, and he hasn’t played sound basketball since the Cavs won a championship in 2016. This current version of Smith is a net negative on offense and a complete non-factor on defense. You can try to convince yourself that he’s a champion who has experience running with LeBron, but the Lakers have much better options.

The Lakers still have Quinn Cook on the team, a player who is also a champion and is entering his prime. Quinn Cook has connected on 41 percent of shots from beyond the arc throughout his career. Compare that to J.R. Smith’s 37 percent clip from deep for his career, and it’s clear that Quinn is the purer shooter.

Cook is better at creating on offense as well. The former Warrior is more than capable of working out of the pick and roll, and he can produce his own looks off of step back jumpers when the clock winds down. Smith, on the other hand, has slowed down considerably over the past few seasons. Age has worn him down and rendered him as a mediocre spot-up shooter from distance.

The funny thing is: Quinn Cook is much more capable than J.R. Smith, but Cook will likely only see limited action because the Lakers have two even better options than him in Dion Waiters and Alex Caruso. There will be more on Waiters and Caruso in the upcoming slides, but one thing is clear, J.R. Smith shouldn’t play unless things go upside down for the Lakers during the restart.