In December, the Los Angeles Lakers signed forward Stanley Johnson to a 10-day contract in the hopes that he would plug a huge hole at that position.
He quickly proved to be a good and energetic defender, and the team signed him to a two-year contract.
It now appears the Lakers will exercise the second year option on that contract to keep Johnson in the fold next season.
“The expectation around the NBA is the Los Angeles Lakers will exercise the $2.35 million team option on forward Stanley Johnson,” wrote Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. “New Lakers coach Darvin Ham publicly stressed the importance of role players like Johnson. Johnson shot a career-high 46.6 percent with the Lakers.”
Johnson is a former lottery pick who had bounced around the league before joining the Purple and Gold, and he is a native of Southern California.
Early in the 2021-22 season, it became clear that L.A. had a lack of young role-playing forwards who could give the team defense, 3-point shooting and energy.
Carmelo Anthony gave the team a lift offensively with his 3-point shooting at times, but he was streaky and unable to contain opponents on the defensive end.
Meanwhile, Trevor Ariza, another frontcourt player L.A. signed last summer, quickly proved that he was washed up at both ends of the floor.
Johnson came in and showed the ability to get stops, and although his offensive game is limited, once in a while he flashed the ability to create his own shot off the dribble.
The main weakness in his game right now is 3-point shooting, but if he improves that aspect of his game, he can become very valuable to the Lakers moving forward.
