Lakers agree to deal Sasha Vujacic to Nets, acquire veteran forward Joe Smith
December 14, 2010 | 4:07 pm
Sasha In a move to bolster their front-court depth and also save millions in salary and luxury taxes, the Lakers have agreed to trade Sasha Vujacic and a 2011 first-round draft pick to New Jersey as part of a three-team trade that will bring veteran forward Joe Smith to the Lakers.
The trade is conditional upon Smith passing a physical.
As the fifth guard in Phil Jackson’s four-guard rotation, Vujacic had seen his playing time reduced to almost nothing this season.
Vujacic, 26, is averaging only 1.8 points and 4.9 minutes a game. He played in 11 of the Lakers’ 24 games before Tuesday.
Smith, 35, has seen a downturn in his stats in recent seasons and played only four games for the Nets this season, averaging 0.5 points and 0.8 rebounds.
He possesses a decent mid-range jump shot and can provide a handful of minutes for the Lakers. He averaged 9.3 minutes a game last season for Atlanta, averaging three points and 2.5 rebounds a game.
The Lakers will save money on the trade, which also involved the Nets' sending Terrance Williams to Houston.
Smith is making a relatively low $1.4 million this season, almost half of which is paid by the league because it is a veteran’s minimum salary.
Vujacic is making $5.5 million in the last season of a three-year, $15-million contract he signed in the summer of 2008 to stay with the Lakers.
--Mike Bresnahan
