For the Los Angeles Lakers and all NBA 30 teams, March 1 is the final deadline to waive player(s) so they are still eligible to play in the NBA playoffs.
While the Lakers waived DeMarcus Cousins in order to sign Markieff Morris, they were not done and waived Troy Daniels to create a roster spot now.
Although the Lakers did not immediately sign a player, they have been linked to numerous backcourt players such as Dion Waiters and JR Smith so far.
With the Lakers set to return from a three-game road trip, they will work out Waiters, according to Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
The Los Angeles Lakers will work out free agent guard Dion Waiters on Monday, sources tell me and @wojespn. Waiters has career averages of 13.2 points and 2.8 assists in Cleveland, OKC and Miami. LAL opened up a roster spot by waiving guard Troy Daniels on Sunday.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 2, 2020
In addition to Waiters, they will also work out Smith early this week as previously reported, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Free agent guard J.R. Smith will work out for the Los Angeles Lakers early this week, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 2, 2020
If both Waiters and Smith have the right mindset and are in shape, they do bring more to the table than Daniels. As Waiters has the ability to create his own shot for him and others, Smith is a more than capable 3-and-D player.
However, Smith has not played since the 2018-19 NBA season after being bought out by the Cleveland Cavaliers. And for Waiters, he was bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies after being suspended a lot by the Miami Heat.
Along with Waiters and Smith, Tyler Johnson, Trey Burke, and Lance Stephenson are some of the names that are available. With the Lakers looking for a backup point guard and/or wing defender, there is really not one player available that truly addresses their needs for the 2020 NBA playoffs.
Having said this, there is still value in having a open roster spot.
