The Lakers have agreed to sign guard Jordan Goodwin to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
All three of Los Angeles’ two-way slots are currently full, so the club will waive forward Armel Traore to create an opening for Goodwin, according to Charania (Twitter link).
Goodwin, 26, made his NBA debut in December 2021 and has appeared in 121 total regular season games since then, averaging 6.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 17.9 minutes per contest for the Wizards, Suns, and Grizzlies, with a shooting line of .405/.308/.758.
Known more for his defense than his offense, Goodwin was on NBA rosters for nearly all of last season, but has spent the 2024/25 campaign in the G League, playing for the South Bay Lakers. In 17 outings at the NBAGL level for L.A.’s affiliate, he has averaged 13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.8 steals in 24.0 minutes per game on .423/.314/.714 shooting.
As for Traore, the 6’9″ Frenchman caught out with the Lakers last summer after going undrafted. Traore, who just turned 22 last month, has made only nine NBA appearances, but has spent time with South Bay alongside Goodwin, averaging 14.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.8 APG in 13 games (27.1 MPG).
Assuming he officially signs his new two-way deal on Friday or Saturday, Goodwin will be eligible to appear in up to 19 NBA games with the Lakers for the rest of this season. He won’t be eligible for the postseason unless he’s promoted to the standard 15-man roster before the playoffs.
Well, they certainly could use his defense, but they really need help defensively on the wing (plus they still have guards that do that). They’re hoping Shake Milton can give them that, but I think they could also use another option. Obviously, they’re limited with who they can actually sign…Josh Richardson is currently available; if he’s healthy, he fits
Idk, I think that between DFS, Rui, and the newly returned Vanderbilt, they actually have some good wing defenders. LeBron also picks up his defense in the playoffs and in tough games. Meanwhile, the only even halfway decent PoA defender they have in the backcourt is Gabe Vincent, and sliding DFS to the 2, both of which have downsides. I like this better than trying to shoehorn another wing onto the roster.
Picking up Richardson would still be a good move if they can swing it, though. He’s pretty versatile in what positions he can play and defend.
I consider DFS and Vanderbilt more as 4s, though DFS can play on the wing in certain lineups (he’s a 4/3). He is their best defender. Hachimura i consider to be below adequate defensively, at best, when he plays smallball 5 next to the right people, but outright bad in most lineups, when he’s at the 4. For LeBron, it depends on what they do around him. He’s played a lot of PG relatively recently, and also obviously is amazing at the 4/5. You would like to avoid having to play him on the wing if you can, but you’re right.
It’s not like they need significant help from multiple pieces; they just need 1-2 guys that don’t need the ball in their hands, can defend, and hopefully shoot at least adequately
How is he signed to a two way contract? Isn’t it three years or more is the cut off? So I guess his rookie season of two games played doesn’t count
A player with three years of NBA service can sign a two-way contract and players don’t get credited for a year of service until the end of a season, so they can sign two-way deals in their fourth year.
I think a roster count update post deadline would be awesome, especially after all the two way changes.
Probably will have to wait a day or two because teams are still making moves and buyouts and buyout additions are still happening, but I’m in favor as well.
We’ll probably get something up this weekend. In the meantime, our roster counts page should be up to date with the correct counts for moves that have gone official: link to hoopsrumors.com