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LeBron James Endorses J.R. Smith as Lakers Look to Buyout Market
- Updated: February 20, 2020
The Los Angeles Lakers have been mum thus far in their search for a free agent, but help could be on the way.
In a Instagram post on Wednesday night, Lakers superstar forward LeBron James endorsed his former Cavs teammate, J.R. Smith, as a reliable scorer.
? Could the Lakers be close to signing @TheRealJRSmith ?
?: @KingJames (IG)#LakeShow #Lakers #NBA pic.twitter.com/cFr11R6LL3
— ShowtimeForum (@ShowtimeForum) February 20, 2020
The Lakers were expected to upgrade their roster prior to the trade deadline, but stood pat as they missed out on such candidates as Derrick Rose.
Quickly thereafter, the Lakers missed out on potential free agents Darren Collison, Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson, with Morris and Jackson being obtained by the team’s Western Conference rival Los Angeles Clippers.
Smith is now 34 years old, but could still be a valuable contributor off the bench. The shooting guard has a career average of 12.5 points per game on 37.3 percent shooting from the field.