How Avery Bradley Has Put the Los Angeles Lakers in a Big Problem by Opting Out

The NBA announced early this month that the league will return by the end of July with a revised regular season structure. Ever since the return was announced, the league has been subjected to several criticisms from the players. Many stars have voiced their opinion against the NBA’s return by threatening to boycott the league. And just a few hours ago, a Los Angeles Lakers player opted out of the NBA’s restart. 

Avery Bradley, who has been a firm starter for the Lakers this season, is unwilling to travel to the Orlando bubble. As per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Bradley has cited family concerns as the main motive behind his decision. 

“As committed to my Lakers teammates and the organization as I am, I ultimately play basketball for my family,” Avery Bradley said. “And so, at a time like this, I can’t imagine making any decision that might put my family’s health and well-being at even the slightest risk.” 

With Bradley out for the rest of the season, the Lakers have a challenging task in hand. The main question that arises is- who will fill the spot left by the 29-year-old guard?

There is no reason why the Lakers won’t be confident ahead of the NBA’s return. Though they endured a loss right before the season came to a halt, it won’t carry much of an effect. With a 49-14 record, the team is on top of the Western Conference and hold the second-best record in the league. 

Who should the Los Angeles Lakers replace Bradley with?

Out of the 63 matches played by the Lakers, Avery Bradley started a majority of them. In fact, he is the team’s starting shooting guard. LeBron James has adapted to the point guard position pretty well as he is good at dominating ball possession. Bradley has played in 49 of the Lakers’ games and in fact, he has started 44 of them. Coach Vogel clearly prefers him over Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He comes off the bench and averages a tad more than Bradley’s 8.6 points per game. 

To fill in the role of a starter should not be a head-breaker for the Los Angeles Lakers. The team is well balanced and if Caldwell-Pope is not trusted enough by Vogel to grant the 27-year-old a starting position, there are always other options. However, Bradley’s shooting stats rank a bit lower from what Caldwell-Pope has been able to offer. But defensively, Bradley is the better option any day. 

The talent of Rajon Rondo is always there for the team to experiment with. The 2008 champion is highly experienced, and he is also likely to get the nod as a starter.

However, the young talent in Kyle Kuzma cannot be overlooked as he has been impressive this season. The explosiveness of the forward proves to be a game-changer on certain occasions. Kuzma is definitely a viable option for the team, though Caldwell-Pope has started more games than him. 

There will be just eight regular-season games remaining before the much-anticipated post-season begins. Thus, the Lakers have very few tries to nail their starting lineup. Though the main five will be shifting according to the intensity of the games and threat of the opponent, the dynamic duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James is expected to suit up in purple and gold and push their team towards their first championship since 2010.