Los Angeles Lakers: Players with the most to prove in 2019

Avery Bradley

Avery Bradley is someone who I got very excited for when it was announced that the Los Angeles Lakers struck a deal with him. Bradley was once one of the top-10, top-15 defenders in all of the NBA and was a pivotal part of the Isaiah Thomas-led Boston Celtics that surprised a lot of people.

But the problem is that Bradley started to fall off the map after he departed from Boston. His first stop, Detroit, was decent. He was a decent player for Detroit, albeit not as good as he was in Boston, for the half a season that he was on the team.

Then he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, where he got hurt and could finish his first year. That seemed fine, though, as he was under contract for one more year in LA.

That second year, which was last year, was terrible. He had his most inefficient offensive season yet and was not even good, at least in terms of metrics, on defense. He slowly lost more and more minutes with the Clippers and in two years turned from a borderline all-star to a bench piece.

He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Garrett Temple and Jamychal Green and actually thrived. Although his defense was not as good metrically as it was in Boston, he was much more efficient offensively.

Now he gets another shot to be a difference-maker on a title-contender and could emerge as a massive three and D player for the Lakers this season. That, or he can continue to fall down the grapevine, leaving everyone wondering what his career could have been.