LOS ANGELES – Lakers coach Frank Vogel says the team will not be looking for a replacement player for Dwight Howard to restart Orlando. And, according to Vogel, the team won’t ask the replacement player to have added, JR Smith, to play as the player he replaced, Avery Bradley.
Speaking in a videoconference with reporters on Wednesday at the start of the Lakers’ pre ‘training camp consisting of individual workouts before the team flies to Florida next week, Vogel reiterated Los Angeles’ commitment to the backup center.
“We have been in communication with Dwight all the time with phone calls and support text messages,” said Vogel. “We don’t know what the level of participation will be. He wants to play. We hope to be able to join us.”
Howard is currently with his family in Georgia, where he is satisfying the NBA’s internal quarantine and testing protocol required of all players who will participate in Orlando, a championship source told ESPN.
Howard’s 6-year-old son David is entrusted to him. David’s mother, Melissa Rios, died of an epileptic seizure on March 27 at her home in Calabasas, California.
Howard not only juggles his father responsibilities with preparing for the season finale, but as a black man he has also been deeply affected by the social unrest that plagues this country, according to Howard’s agent, Charles Briscoe.
“Basketball, or the entertainment period, isn’t needed right now, and it’s going to be just a distraction,” Howard said in a statement released to CNN through Briscoe last month.
Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka told reporters this week that the team is working with Howard, Briscoe, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association to find a viable path for the former three times defender of the year to report to the team.
All 22 teams participating in the reboot were required to submit their list of 36 away players, including their list of up to 17 players, to the league by Wednesday. Vogel said “we have no intention” to keep Howard off the Lakers list.
“It has a mitigating circumstance that it is working with on the league in terms of what it will ultimately look like,” said Vogel. “But we are confident and optimistic that he will be able to join us in Orlando.”
The NBA has already assessed the circumstances of the players on a case-by-case basis, as the players proved positive for COVID-19 before returning to their teams. Sacramento Kings striker Jabari Parker, for example, will remain in Chicago before joining his teammates in Orlando while recovering from the coronavirus, rather than trekking on the west coast in advance.
As for Smith, he officially signed a contract with the Lakers on Wednesday, giving Los Angeles another guard option after Bradley gave up playing in Orlando last week due to family concerns. The 34-year-old, who has not played in the league since November 2018, will wear the number 21 for the Lakers.
“In terms of what he brings to the table, only the experience factor,” said Vogel of Smith, who joined LeBron James on Cleveland Cavaliers to win a championship in 2016. “I mean, this guy is a great player. Lo he has shown throughout his career. We know he can help us.
“We almost added him earlier in the year when we added Dion Waiters and now we have the luxury of having both. We’re not going to ask him to come in and become Avery Bradley. He’s going to come in and become JR Smith. He’ll only hold that position, plus than to play that role. “
Lakers’ social media accounts posted photos of three players working at their El Segundo, California facility on Wednesday: James, Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso.
Back to Business ???? #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/zFTpejZqDh
– Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 1, 2020
Caruso, who was on average 17.8 minutes before the season was suspended at Bradley’s 24.2, said he hopes to recover part of the game created by Bradley’s absence.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be the only supplier of everything Avery has done,” he said in a video conference with journalists. “It is a lot to ask just for how good he is in what he does. But surely I will be ready to fill part of that gap and that need.”
.
