Lakers shockingly waive center amid roster reshuffling following Marcus Smart deal

Yahoo

6 days ago

The Los Angeles Lakers have made plenty of changes to the roster during the offseason. While LeBron James picked up his player option and Jaxson Hayes was re-signed, Dorian Finney-Smith opted to join the Houston Rockets as Los Angeles was reportedly unwilling to offer more than two years.
The Lakers responded by adding Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart on two-year deals that allow them to keep their books open for the stacked 2027 class — where they are hoping to find a long-term co-star for Luka Dončić. Los Angeles waived Shake Milton and Jordan Goodwin in order to create the necessary cap space to sign Smart.
They continued making moves on Monday as Brett Siegel of Clutch Points revealed that the Lakers waived center Trey Jemison III.
"The Lakers are waiving Trey Jemison III, who was on a two-way contract."
The move follows an announcement that Los Angeles will sign center Christian Koloko and forward Chris Manon to two-way contracts. The front office opted to open up their third two-way spot by waiving Jemison III.
The big man appeared in 22 games for the Lakers in 2024-25. He averaged 2.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.1 steals and 0.4 blocks in 10.3 minutes per game while shooting 61.9% from the field.
It is unclear how Los Angeles plans to use their third two-way contract, however, some believe they could opt to sign Cole Swider to a deal after his strong showing in the Summer League. In five games, he averaged 17.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.2 spg and 0.2 bpg while shooting 45.5% from the field and 40.9% from three-point range.