The Los Angeles Lakers' secondary goal in the offseason was to surround LeBron James with veterans with high basketball IQ, and one of the team's first signings was Jared Dudley. Head coach Frank Vogel believes that the 12-year veteran will play a key role for the Purple and Gold this season, per Christian Rivas of SB Nation.
“The enthusiasm piece obviously helps your culture, but his IQ and his knowledge, and the ability to see what we’re doing and make it better like an assistant coach would.”
Vogel is also expecting Dudley to become a mentor to some of the younger guys on the team:
“The ability to mentor some of the other players, young guys and old guys, about ‘hey, you can do this a little bit better, you can do that a little bit better. You want guys who can do that but they can still go out and play, and Jared still goes out and gets the job done and practices what he preaches.”
Dudley has already said that he plans to take Kyle Kuzma under his wing this season, so he'll probably be giving the rising star some pointers during games.
Another reason why the Lakers signed Dudley is his ability to space the floor. He's a career 39 percent shooter from behind the arc and if he's still the same reliable shooter that he has been over the past 12 years, he'll definitely be an important member of the team's second unit.
Overall, Vogel is just excited to have Dudley on the roster: “He’s going to be an invaluable member (of the team) for us.”
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