Less than 24 hours after their first game of the 2018/19 regular season, the Lakers have made a change to one of their two-way contract slots, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed power forward Johnathan Williams and waived forward Travis Wear.
[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]
Williams, who was in camp with the Lakers, averaged 6.8 PPG and 4.3 RPG in six preseason games (14.5 MPG) with the team. The Gonzaga product was released last Saturday by Los Angeles when the team initially cut its down roster down to the regular season limit, but didn’t remain a free agent for long.
As for Wear, the former UCLA standout has had multiple stints with the Lakers, appearing in 17 regular season contests for the franchise last season. The 28-year-old is a solid three-point shooter, having converted 36.4% of his three-point attempts in the NBA and 38.1% in the G League. The South Bay Lakers still hold Wear’s rights in the event he decides to return to the NBAGL, notes Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link).
It’s not clear if the Lakers envision an NBA role for Williams, but it’s worth noting that the team is fairly thin at the center position, with few viable options behind JaVale McGee. Williams could get a look at the five before reporting to South Bay.