One player that has been probably forgotten by most from the Los Angeles Lakers side is Avery Bradley. The 29-year-old guard did not join the team in the NBA bubble and was not part of the 2019-20 NBA Finals triumph. Regardless, he remains part of the team until he decided on what to do this offseason.

Bradley has a player option with the Lakers worth $5 million. It remains to be seen what he plans to do although he could follow several other LA players who plan to test the free-agent market. Among those players include Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dwight Howard.

Speaking of Howard, Bradley ironically changed agents recently. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Bradley is signing with Charles Briscoe who also managed Howard. Though it is not a surprising development, most are now wondering if Briscoe would play a role in what Bradley plans to do this offseason.

   

Bradley hardly gave good numbers for the Lakers last season but remains a vital part of the rotation. He played in 49 games and averaged 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. It was Bradley’s shooting that the Lakers missed badly in the playoffs. The 6-foot-3 guard owns a 52.6 percent shooting from the field and 36.4 percent from the three-point region per Basketball-Reference.

The Lakers needed outside shooing badly during the playoffs and Bradley could have helped. Without him, Danny Green, Caldwell-Pope and Rondo had to step up their game to provide LeBron James and Anthony Davis the much-needed boost.

With the Lakers trying to make it back-to-back titles, the need for guards and shooters will once again be in focus. There is no assurance that Rondo or Caldwell-Pope will be back. Bradley could join that mix if he opts out. But the question there is how much money would be offered to him with the performance he had last season?

Unlike KCP and Rondo, Bradley still needs to prove he deserves a pay raise. Though he has been around for quite some time now. Bradley has yet to recall the same deadly form he had with the Boston Celtics from 2013 to 2017.

He showed some promise with the Detroit Pistons during the 2017-18 season and then with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2018-19 season. He could see first if offers are waiting for him this offseason. But if the number of teams is thin, he may want to pick up that option and raise his stock with the Lakers for the 2020-21 wars.

With a depleted backcourt, the coming season could be what Bradley needs. Better yet, it may even reward him with a second NBA title – this time with him playing the full route.