On the morning of January 6, Beijing time, the Los Angeles Lakers officially announced their first non-difficult special signing of the season, and they used the non-special ten-day contract to complete the signing of Stanley Johnson. In yesterday's win over the Kings, Stanley Johnson did not play due to difficult exceptions, and many fans feared that the 26-year-old striker would be picked up by other teams to sign and leave. The forward, who was only promoted from Lakers' South Bay Lakers to the NBA midway through the season, won the trust of the team and fans after just a few games, and his excellent defensive ability and physical fitness helped the Lakers survive the most difficult stages after Anthony Davis' injury. After completing the signing, NBA well-known journalist Vincent Horst disclosed the lakers' next potential operation, Jordan Jr. and Bazemore have been listed by the team close to leaving.
Unlike other "firefighters" signed by the Lakers, 26-year-old Stanley Johnson entered the league with the eighth pick in the first round of the 2015 Draft and is an uncompromising potential rising star. In high school, Stanley Johnson was recognized as the nation's no. 1 high school student, and his outstanding physical fitness helped him stand out in the lower divisions. But after entering the NBA, Stanley Johnson's growth rate was obviously lower than everyone expected, which gradually faded his vision. After all, for most teams, it's better to trust a twenty-two-year-old player who still has only physical fitness than to continue to scrape the lottery at the draft. But Johnson hasn't given up on himself, he's been struggling to develop leagues and short-term contracts. Kung Fu paid off, and Stanley seized one of the most important opportunities of his career.
It is worth mentioning that the Lakers signed Stanley Johnson this time to take advantage of a ten-day short contract, so he did not occupy the Lakers' lineup space. Earlier last week, the Lakers freed up a valuable lineup slot through a trade to send Rondo away, and it's clear that they want to use that lineup slot as much as possible to keep the flexibility in place. After signing Stanley Johnson, the Lakers' current lineup can basically cope with the game before Anthony Davis returns from injury, and the Lakers' reinforcement goal will obviously shift from improving the lineup to upgrading the lineup. According to Vin Horst, the Lakers have begun planning to send Jordan Jr. and Bazemore to their base salary contracts in order to free up more lineup space to complete potentially large-scale deals. Combined with previous news, this large-scale transaction is likely to revolve around Tucker.
Earlier today, the authoritative media ESPN exposed what the Lakers have been trying since the beginning of the season: trading Westbrook. Apparently, not long after completing the deal, the Purple Gold Army discovered that Westbrook could not help James reduce the burden, and he could not help the Purple Gold Army to go further. But after the past few seasons, the 32-year-old Westbrook with a high salary of $40 million has clearly become the representative of the high salary and low ability in the league, and it is even more difficult to send him away. In such a situation, if the Lakers want to maximize the improvement of the lineup, the only ten-million contract outside the big three in the trading team has become the only solution. Fans and friends think the Lakers will trade Tucker to complete the reinforcement of their lineup? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!