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Former Longhorn Avery Bradley Opts out of Playing in Orlando

Bradley announced Tuesday night that he won’t be traveling to Orlando with the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Avery Bradley announced Tuesday night that he won’t be traveling to Orlando with the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bradley cited his family’s health as a main reason for dropping out.

"As committed to my Lakers teammates and the organization as I am, I ultimately play basketball for my family. And so, at a time like this, I can't imagine making any decision that might put my family's health and well-being at even the slightest risk.

"As promised also, I will use this time away to focus on the formation of projects to help strengthen my communities."

The two-way player started 44 games for the Lakers this season, averaging a solid 8.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. LeBron James and Co. will look to other role players such as Kentavious Caldwell Pope and Alex Caruso to step up and fill in the minutes.

The Lakers are allowed to sign a replacement for the upcoming restart of the season. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski sights free-agent guard JR Smith as a potential candidate to replace the former Longhorn. Smith, a former teammate of LeBron James, has some familiarity with the system and will look to jump straight into the action to possibly win his second championship.

Bradley stands to lose a projected $650,000 in salary by not resuming the season. Teams will arrive in Florida on July 7, 8 or 9. The season is set to start on July 30th. 

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