LOS ANGELES – Lakers coach Frank Vogel says the team will not be looking for a replacement player for Dwight Howard for the Orlando restart. And, according to Vogel, the team will not ask the added replacement player, JR Smith, to play as the replacement player, Avery Bradley.
Speaking in a video conference with reporters Wednesday at the start of the Lakers ‘”pre” training camp comprised of individual practice before the team flies to Florida next week, Vogel reiterated Los Angeles’ commitment to the backup center.
“We have been in communication with Dwight the entire time with support calls and text messages,” said Vogel. “We still don’t know what the level of participation will be. He wants to play. We hope he can join us.”
Howard is currently with his family in Georgia, where he is serving NBA quarantine and the required testing protocol for all players who will participate in Orlando, a league source told ESPN.
David, Howard’s 6-year-old son, is in his care. David’s mother, Melissa Ríos, died of an epileptic seizure on March 27 at her home in Calabasas, California.
Howard is not only juggling his responsibilities as a parent in preparation for the season finale, but as a black man he has also been deeply affected by the social unrest facing this country, according to Howard’s agent, Charles Briscoe.
“Basketball, or the entertainment period, is not necessary at this time, and it will only be a distraction,” Howard said in a statement released to CNN via 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 Association of Basketball Players to find a viable path for the former Three times Defensive of the Year to eventually inform the team.
The 22 teams that participated in the restart were due to submit to the league their roster of 36-person travel groups, including their roster of up to 17 players, by Wednesday. Vogel said “we have no intention” of keeping Howard off the Lakers’ roster.
“You have a mitigating circumstance where you are working with the league in terms of what it will ultimately be like,” Vogel said. “But we are hopeful and optimistic that he can join us in Orlando.”
The NBA has already evaluated the players’ circumstances on a case-by-case basis, as the players tested positive for COVID-19 before returning to their teams. Sacramento Kings forward Jabari Parker, for example, will remain in Chicago before joining his teammates in Orlando while recovering from the coronavirus, rather than traveling to the west coast beforehand.
As for Smith, he officially signed a contract with the Lakers on Wednesday, giving Los Angeles another on-call option after Bradley opted not to play 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, just the experience factor,” said Vogel of Smith, who joined LeBron James at the Cleveland Cavaliers to win a championship in 2016. “I mean, this guy is a great player. He has proven over the course of your career. We know you can help us.
“We almost added it earlier in the year when we added Dion Waiters and now we have the luxury of having both. We are not going to ask him to come in and be Avery Bradley. He will come in and be JR Smith.” He’s just going to fill that role, rather than fill that role. “
The Lakers’ social media accounts posted photos of three players working at their El Segundo, California, facility Wednesday: James, Anthony Davis, and Alex Caruso.
Back to business 💼 #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/zFTpejZqDh
– Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 1, 2020
Caruso, who averaged 17.8 minutes before the season was suspended at 24.2 by Bradley, said he hopes to regain some of the slack created by Bradley’s absence.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to be the sole provider of everything Avery did,” he said in a video conference with journalists. “That’s a lot to ask for how good he is at what he does. But I’m definitely going to be ready to fill some of that gap and that need.”
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