On December 25, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season ushered in a rest day before the year-end war. Earlier today, the Lakers officially announced that they would use difficult exceptions to sign 10-day contracts with guard Darren Collison and forward Stanley Johnson, both of whom are expected to play tomorrow's year-end battle against the Nets.
Collison, 32, was selected with the 21st pick at the 2009 draft. He played for the Hornets, Pacers, Clippers, Kings and Pacers, averaging 12.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. His last appearance in the NBA was in 2018-19, when he made 76 appearances for the Pacers, averaging 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In this offseason, he tried out for the Warriors and Lakers.
Stanley Johnson, 25, was selected with the 8th overall pick in the first round at the 2015 draft and played for the Pistons, Pelicans, Raptors and Bulls in his career, averaging 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He made 61 appearances for the Raptors last season, averaging 4.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He has struck a 10-day contract with the Bulls this season, but triggered a health and safety agreement without playing, and he has also played for the Lakers development league team before.
According to Lakers reporter Harrison Faigen, Thomas Jr. had a hard time staying with the Lakers, writing: "Signing Collison is certainly not good news for Thomas Jr., which may mean he will leave the Lakers after the end of his 10-day contract." ”
Counting yesterday's game, Thomas Jr. has now made four appearances for the Lakers, and he scored 19, 13, 3 and 2 points in those four games. In the last two games, he shot 1 of 11 and 1 of 5, respectively, averaging 9.3 points, 2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, shooting 22.7% from three-point range. In these 4 games, the Lakers lost all of them. Because of this, it may be difficult for him to stay with the Lakers.
According to the schedule, the Lakers will host the Nets tomorrow. As of now, the Lakers can have up to 14 players in tomorrow's game: James, Westbrook, Jordan Jr., Howard, Tucker, Anthony, Rondo, Thomas Jr., Ellington, Mason Jones, Gemellio Jones, Khuff, Harrison and Johnson.
There were seven players in the team who could not play, five of whom triggered health and safety agreements: Bradley, Reeves, Bazemore, Munch, Ariza, and Davis and Nunn were determined to be unable to participate due to injury.