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00:00I'm Jill Painter Lopez for Sports Illustrated joined by Melissa Rowland and Melissa Avery
00:07Bradley has decided not to enter the bubble in Orlando with the Lakers citing family reasons
00:12and Magic Johnson has tweeted that it will be quote more difficult for the Lakers to
00:16now win the NBA championship without him.
00:19What exactly are the Lakers missing without Avery Bradley?
00:22The Lakers are missing a lot.
00:24Avery Bradley started in 44 games for the team this season.
00:27He's a great perimeter defender.
00:28He's a good spot up shooter.
00:30He's somebody who's well liked.
00:31He's a good locker room guy.
00:33So the Lakers are definitely going to be missing a lot with him.
00:36It's understandable why he decided to opt out though.
00:39His six year old son has had respiratory issues in the past.
00:43And obviously if he contracted COVID-19 that could be very dangerous for him.
00:47So the Lakers will now have an open roster spot and J.R. Smith according to ESPN is emerging
00:52as a top contender for it.
00:54J.R. Smith won an NBA championship alongside LeBron James in 2016.
00:59He has a lot of playoff experience and he has a lot of experience playing against LeBron
01:04James which is something that could be very key when you know the Lakers aren't going
01:08to have a lot of time to integrate somebody onto their team.
01:11But the downside of J.R. Smith or the question mark around him is he hasn't played since
01:15the top of the 2018-2019 season when he and the Cavs mutually parted ways.
01:20So it remains to be seen how sharp he is defensively and whether or not he could fit
01:25in with the Lakers who are extremely great on the defensive end.
01:29So there's a lot to remain to be seen right now but one thing is definitely for sure Avery
01:34Bradley will be sorely missed.