Take the lead! The Lakers are the first to sign the top five-star high school student who was once ranked in the top three in the United States?

According to the news of OOSSports reporter Rob Murrows, the Los Angeles Lakers reached an agreement with Nick Smith Jr., a backcourt star who had just been cut by the Charlotte Hornets. Smith got a two-way contract from the Lakers. The Lakers then confirmed the news, and Smith will wear the No. 20 jersey in the new season.

Smith was born in April 2004 and is 21 years old, 188cm tall and weighs 84kg. He is a backcourt player from the University of Arkansas selected by the Hornets in the 2023 NBA Draft with the No. 27 pick in the first round. In the NBA regular season last season, Smith made a total of 60 appearances, averaging 22.8 minutes per game, averaging 9.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.1 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers and 1.3 fouls. His shooting percentage was 39.1%, three-point shooting percentage was 34%, and his free throw shooting percentage was 93.5%. In the NBA Development League last season, Smith played 8 times for the Hornets' subordinate team Greensboro Hornets, with averaging 33 minutes per game, with averaging 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.8 blocks, 2.2 turnovers and 2.1 fouls, with a shooting percentage of 42.4%, a three-point shooting percentage of 35.5%, and a free throw shooting percentage of 93.8%. Although Smith is a first-round pick and was once the top five-star high school student in the United States that has attracted much attention, his performance in the NCAA and after entering the NBA arena is not satisfactory, and his potential has not been fully realized. Smith should have been a good scorer, but over the past two seasons, his offensive performance has been ups and downs at an extremely unstable level. But on the other hand, Smith was able to play his scoring ability in some games last season, but his performance was more or less like a god or a ghost or a ghost. No one knew what kind of performance he would play in the next game.

Smith has attracted the attention of several teams according to Murrows. In addition to the Lakers, the Houston Rockets, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Chicago Bulls are all interested in signing Smith. However, it seems that the Lakers, who still have a two-way contract quota, still have the advantage in this regard. They immediately took action and signed Smith with the last two-way contract in their hands. The Lakers are obviously very optimistic about Smith's potential, otherwise they would not have signed him so quickly. I don’t know what kind of performance Smith can perform in the NBA field in the new season. After joining the Lakers with stronger strength, can Smith suddenly realize his potential and launch an attack on the Lakers' rotation lineup?