The Los Angeles Lakers are hanging tough in the western conference despite dealing with a number of injuries at the point guard position and while Kobe Bryant has returned, Steve Nash and Steve Blake are out and with the Kyle Lowry deal not happening, the team may look to sign a free agent like Sebastian Telfair, Delonte West or Mike James.
According to ESPN.com, Blake will be out for a few weeks and that means the Lakers must find a viable option at the point guard position, as Nash is injured and Jordan Farmar has also been banged up. Telfair is currently playing in China and he played in 59 games for the Suns and Raptors last season and he averaged about five points over that stretch and while he is all the way in China, he could be an option once the season is over there. Telfair has averaged d 7.4 points and 3.5 assists during his NBA career and while he has not lived up to expectations as a top pick, he could be a solid reserve option.
James has played in seven games this season and has averaged just five minutes per contest with the Bulls and he was waived by the team last week and he did not get the chance to play much. During his career he has averaged 9.9 points per game and even with Derrick Rose going out for the season, coach Tom Thibodeau could not find time for James in the rotation and Marquis Teague and D.J. Augustin are now the players coming in for Rose.
West could also be an option for the team and he has not played regularly since back in the 2011-12 season with the Mavericks when he played in 44 games and started 33 while averaging 9.6 points per game and that is just off his career average. Blake could be out for mul;tiple weeks for the Lakers and the MRI means he could miss over a month and that is a tough situation for the team, as they are now two games under .500 and in the very tough western conference, they will have to do more than that to get into the playoffs and Blake was originally injured in the loss to the Washington Wizards and he did not come with the team on their current road trip.
"Mike's done a great job throughout his career," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He did a great job for us. We certainly appreciate all that he brought to our team. For us, we just wanted to keep some flexibility as we move forward but Mike's a terrific player, he's a great guy, he did a great job for us."
