JR Smith to Lakers: LeBron James confirms JR Smith will be joining him for the NBA restart

JR Smith to Lakers has been confirmed by LeBron James himself, as his Instagram activity suggests he is reuniting with his old teammate.

The Los Angeles Lakers have finalised a deal to bring in J.R. Smith to a rest-of-the-season contract. It will be confirmed right in time before the closure of the NBA’s “transaction window” on Tuesday.

According to The Telegraph’s NBA expert Mark Stein, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, JR Smith will be added to the roster for the NBA restart at Walt Disney World.

The Lakers, league sources say, are expected to finalize a rest-of-the-season contract with J.R. Smith before Tuesday’s 11:59 PM ET closure of the NBA’s “transaction window”

Rosters for the NBA restart at Walt Disney World must be turned in to the league office Wednesday

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2020

LeBron James confirms JR Smith to Lakers on Instagram

LeBron James liked a post about JR Smith joining the Lakers for the NBA restart in Orlando, thereby confirming re-uniting with his old teammate.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The Lakers are expected to sign free agent J.R. Smith, per @thesteinline

A post shared by NBA on TNT (@nbaontnt) on Jun 29, 2020 at 9:22am PDT

JR Smith, a free agent, will come in as a replacement to Avery Bradley. The former was the hot favorite to replace the latter in the Lakers roster. This happened after Bradley decided to sit out of the NBA Restart to take care of his son.

Also Read: Why LeBron James and the Lakers are favorites for NBA Title?

Following this, JR Smith’s agent, Rich Paul began negotiations with La Lakers GM Rob Pelinka to reunite his client with the team. Paul coincidentally also represents LeBron James, among other NBA stars.

JR Smith last played in NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 18-19 season, averaging 8.3 points per game. He played only 11 games, but had a pivotal role as the Cavaliers made it to the Finals.

NBA restarts on the 30th of July

All the NBA teams are expected to resume mandatory individual workouts from July 1. They will travel to Orlando for the much-awaited restart the following week.

The NBA season is expected to restart on the 30th of July, after along layoff, arising out of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is exciting news for Los Angeles Lakers fans, and they are looking forward to witness James and Smith together. Whether they can usher the Lakers to the NBA Finals is something to look out for.

About the author

Subham Jindal

A Red - be it Manchester United or Ferrari. Hails from the hills of Kalimpong, Darjeeling. Aspiring to become a respected Sports Management professional.

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