A change of 'guard': What does the addition of Danny Green and possibly playing LeBron James at point mean for the LA Lakers?

Troy Daniels

Troy Daniels has established himself as a sniper off the bench who can get hot in limited minutes.

The Lakers got a much-needed 3-point specialist early in free agency with Troy Daniels, by signing him to a 1-yr, minimum $2.1 million pact. He brings his career average of 40 percent (38.1% last season) to a Lakers team that was ranked 29th out of 30 teams in 3-point percentage (33.3%). Daniels, 27, is not known for much beyond his shooting, as there are questions about his defense and ball-handling skills. That is likely a contributing factor as to why he has bounced around the NBA (the Lakers will be his sixth team) and was largely out of the rotation for a lowly Phoenix Suns team last season. His averages were 6.2 ppg in 14.9 minutes over 51 games. However, he has established himself as a sniper off the bench who can get hot in limited minutes.

Quinn Cook

Cook struggled at times on both ends against Toronto, including against Fred VanVleet, but he has established himself as a clutch shooter not afraid to step up when needed.

The Lakers were able to pull off another sneaky good move in the hours following Kawhi and Paul George team-up with the Clippers by signing 26-year-old point guard Quinn Cook for 2-yr and $6 million. Cook shot 40.5 percent from three point range this past season and 41.8 for his career. He has filled in admirably in the absence of Steph Curry when hurt over the last two seasons. He often shows good poise and leadership. In the playoffs and finals, he was called upon to play more minutes with the variety of injuries. However Cook can be streaky, and struggled at times on both ends against Toronto (he was on the receiving end of a crossover and crucial 3 by Fred VanVleet in the 4th quarter). But one of his most notable moments in the Finals came in Game 2. He scored 9 points in 21 minutes, on 3-of-5 from 3-point range (3-of-6 overall), including two consecutive dagger 3s in the 4th quarter, in less than one minute.

2016 Rookie of the Year Quinn Cook (@QCook323) and fellow #NBAGLeague alum @ShaunLivingston hit some very CLUTCH buckets in the @warriors' Game 2 #NBAFinals victory. pic.twitter.com/WQztbo1Ocx

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) June 3, 2019

The Lakers signing has a bigger personal meaning for Quinn Cook, as his late father was an avid Lakers fan. He wrote a heart-felt post on social media following his decision.

Quinn Cook signing with the Lakers is bigger than basketball.His late father was a huge Lakers fan 🙏 (via @QCook323) pic.twitter.com/b2Qc31X0sC

— ESPN (@espn) July 8, 2019

Avery Bradley

Avery Bradley has experience guarding bigger players, including LeBron James.

The Lakers used their room exception to sign veteran guard Avery Bradley for 2-yr and $9 million. Bradley, 28, has long established himself as a defensive stalwart, who has improved as a shooter and scorer. Despite being just 6-2, he has long arms, and has the ability to switch and play the pick and roll. He has had experience guarding bigger players, even guarding LeBron James at times over the years. He spent part of last season with the hallway rival Los Angeles Clippers, before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. With the Grizz, Bradley averaged 16.1 ppg, 4.0 ast, 3.1 reb, and 1.0 stl in 16 games. He also shot 38.4% from the 3-point range, adding another much-needshooter to the team. With the Clippers, he formed a small but ferocious defensive duo in the backcourt with Patrick Beverley, who is widely regarded as the best and toughest defensive point guard in the league. It was not easy to score with those two harassing from 94 feet. Bradley hopes to have a similar impact when paired with his former Boston Celtics teammate Rajon Rondo, who was just re-signed for two years with the Lakers.