The Los Angeles Lakers have performed disappointingly this season, and while it's surprising that James still has the league's top stars at the age of 37, the strength of the Purple and Gold Is difficult to enter the first echelon of the championship. However, although the overall season so far has not been satisfactory, the Lakers still have some aspects to deliver satisfactory answers. In the case of extremely difficult trades this season, the Lakers first successfully tapped into the potential of rookie Rivers, and then found Stanley Johnson, who is the best signing of the season, in the development league team when the injury wave hit. However, compared with Rivers, who turned regular in contract at the beginning of the season, Johnson's signing process with the Lakers can be described as a twist and turn. The Lakers first signed the player on a difficult ten-day contract twice in a row, and then signed the player on an ordinary ten-day contract, never giving him a formal contract. Coupled with the news of the Lakers' high-level infighting, many Lakers fans are worried that the talented young player will leave the team.
However, this worry of Lakers fans can be over, and the Los Angeles giants have officially announced the signing of Stanley Johnson at noon local time in North America today. It is reported that the Lakers and Johnson reached a contract period of two years, the team will have a team option after the end of the season. Over the past month or so, Stanley Johnson is becoming the Lakers' most important wing rotation player step by step. The former america's no. 1 high school student, Gao Shunzi Lotto show, finally found his form at the age of 25. For the Lakers, the successful formal contract with Stanley Johnson has on the one hand guaranteed the team's lineup thickness this season, and the team options in the offseason also gave the team more room to operate. If Stanley continues to be in good shape for the rest of the season, the team could choose to keep the young wing for another year at a relatively suitable price. For the Lakers, whose lineup is aging badly, a young player with a base salary is still very important to the team.
Stanley Johnson, 25, is 1.98 meters tall, has an arm span of 2.12 meters and weighs 109 kilograms. His outstanding static talent allowed him to defend multiple positions, and the Lakers even made him the fifth position on the team. In the 2015 draft, Stanley Johnson was selected with the eighth overall pick in the first round. Johnson, then 19, modeled Leonard, was thought to grow into one of the league's top defensive wingers. In the Lakers this season, Johnson has repeatedly served as the leader of the opposing core player and handed over a fairly good answer. James also praised the young player in a post-game interview, arguing that johnson's presence has improved the Lakers' recent defensive quality. It is worth mentioning that Johnson's recent offensive performance has also improved a lot, and his possession of the ball has become a conventional weapon of the Lakers. After the comeback of Anthony Davis, the trio of Johnson, James and Davis gave the Lakers' frontcourt absolute competitiveness for the first time.
For a championship-winning team, the contract dividend is an essential part of the team. There are three top-paid players in the lineup this season that make it difficult for the Lakers to get contract dividend players, and a large number of basic salary veterans fill the lineup to make the team's competitiveness drop sharply. However, the appearance of Rivers and Stanley Johnson has allowed the Lakers to receive a certain contract dividend again. Even if the season ended in failure, rivers and Stanley's contract still gave the Lakers the confidence to continue to operate and return to the championship. At that time, the Lakers can sell Westbrook's expiring big contract, Tucker and Nunn and the 2027 first-round pick can also be packaged in exchange for immediate combat, plus Stanley Johnson and Rivers, the Lakers will regain a chance to shuffle the lineup. Do fans and friends think the Lakers still have hope this season? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!