The Los Angeles Lakers are very slowly, but surely, starting to shape out their supporting cast.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Jared Dudley has signed a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Lakers.
Free agent Jared Dudley has agreed to a one-year, $2.6M deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2019
The 12-year veteran is coming off of a season where he made a solid impact both on the floor and in the locker room with a young, up-and-coming Brooklyn Nets team.
Dudley appeared in 59 games for the Nets and only averaged 4.9 points in 20.7 minutes per game, but shot a quality 35.1% from beyond the arc. The Boston College-product's most quality minutes came in the Nets' first round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers where Dudley upped his playing time to 23.5 minutes per game.
With a slight uptick in minutes, Dudley posted 7.6 points per game shooting a 42.4% from beyond the arc – perhaps the main reason the Lakers seeked out the veteran forward.
Most impressively, Dudley picked up the assignment of trying to stop All-Star guard/forward Ben Simmons and he did it to great success.
According to NBA.com, Dudley guarded Simmons on 82 possessions in their first round series. Of those 82 possessions, Simmons only scored six points with three assists and four turnovers, shooting 3-for-8 (37.5%) from the field.
Dudley should fit in perfectly as a 3-and-D guy alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He's the second 3-point shooter the Lakers have signed this free agency, with the other being sharpshooter Troy Daniels.
