The Los Angeles Lakers, which completed the formation of the Big Three in the summer, went through a long run-in period after the start of the regular season this season, and only found their game status in late November. In the last 12 games, the Lakers have achieved an impressive record of 8 wins and 4 losses, ranking sixth in the West. Although the record has picked up, the news about the Lakers' adjustment has not stopped. Since the beginning of December, as the offseason signing players can trade date approaching, more and more sources have exposed the Lakers' potential trading plans. According to the REPORT OF US MEDIA REPORTER Jake Fisher, the Possibility of trading Westbrook has been seriously discussed within the Lakers, and a signing just announced seems to further confirm that the Lakers are trying to trade Westbrook. According to well-known journalist Shams, the Lakers signed an all-Star point guard Thomas Jr. to a short ten-day contract.
Thomas Jr., known as the strongest 175 on the surface, is arguably the most tragic NBA player in recent years, and after the Celtics played a career highlight and entered the All-Star, Thomas Jr. was abandoned by the team due to injury. After being abandoned by the Celtics, Thomas Jr. moved to many teams such as the Cavaliers, Lakers, Nuggets, Wizards and Pelicans, but none of them could gain a foothold. With the exception of 40 appearances with the Pelicans in the 19-20 season, Thomas Jr. has not made more than 20 appearances in the last five seasons. Just when everyone thought that the two-time All-Star was about to retire, Thomas Jr. appeared in people's vision again with his efforts. After falling out of the NBA again in the offseason, Thomas Jr. has been playing in the Americas Qualifiers with the U.S. national team, which is mainly composed of development leagues and college students. And last week, Thomas Jr. signed to the Nuggets' development league team and had a luxurious stat of 42 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in the following game.
Although he has not shined on the NBA court for a long time, Thomas Jr. has been trying to prove that he still has the ability to play in the NBA, scoring 30+ points in national team games many times and 42 points in the development league. Thomas Jr. had previously revealed to reporters that he had been very close to the Lakers during the offseason, and if it were not for Rondo being bought out, he would probably have signed a basic salary contract with the Lakers. The Lakers chose to sign Thomas Jr. now because Munch and Tucker, two outside rotation players, will be absent for a while, and on the other hand, it is a precursor to the team's attempt to revamp the guard line. Even if Munch and Tucker are absent, the Lakers are more lacking in the guard but in the wing, so signing Thomas Jr. is considered by many media to be an attempt before trading Westbrook. If Thomas Jr. proves that he still has some rotation ability, the Lakers will accelerate their attempt to replace Westbrook and make up for other position players.
Compared to Chloe Longdo, Thomas Jr.'s role is more of a scorer. Even in seasons averaging less than 20 minutes per game, Thomas Jr. still maintained an average of nine to ten shots per game. Recently, the Lakers' performance on the defensive end has heated up, and the team's biggest problem is that the scoring ability is not lasting. Thomas Jr.'s addition could obviously help the Lakers solve this problem, and when the team doesn't score three minutes, he can change the situation with his excellent personal scoring ability. The only concern is that Thomas Jr.'s ability to not have the ball is particularly prominent. Although he has averaged 36.3 percent from three-point range and five shots per game, his shooting history in recent seasons has been even worse than Rondo's. Do fans and friends think Thomas Jr. can help the Lakers now? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!