One day after being blown out by 25 points at home to the New Orleans Pelicans—and two weeks after standing pat at the 2022 NBA trade deadline—the Los Angeles Lakers have made some roster moves. The reeling Lakers will reportedly waive DeAndre Jordan and plan to sign veteran point guard D.J. Augustin, along with forward Wenyen Gabriel to a two-way contract.
The Athletic's Shams Charania first reported the transactions, which have yet to be formally announced by the Lakers.
Jordan, 35, started a bulk of games early in the season but never proved to be a capable rotation player (his on/off numbers are jarring). He fell out of the rotation once the Lakers pivoted to small-ball.
Jordan's final moments as a Laker are fittingly detrimental. On Sunday, he got some run in the third quarter, as the team tried to match up with Jonas Valanciunas and Jaxson Hayes without Anthony Davis. Jordan was a -14 in nine minutes and perfectly encapsulated the Lakers season with a historic blooper. The Lakers were outscored 44-25 in the third period.
DeAndre Jordan is -10 in 2 minutes
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) February 28, 2022
This is both the Lakers season in a nutshell and its lowest point:pic.twitter.com/T5kq6wFzBb
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) February 28, 2022
The Lakers signed Jordan to a one-year, $2.6 million deal in September. He averaged 4.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 12.8 minutes across 32 appearances. Jordan is expected to be pursued by the Philadelphia 76ers and his old coach, Doc Rivers.
The Lakers will have to eat luxury tax penalties for waiving a player on a guaranteed contract. At the trade deadline, the team opted not to ship Jordan or another veteran out to clear a roster spot that would have allowed the squad to add a buyout candidate without extra tax costs.
Yes and no. If they feel their draft assets are too scarce to part with anything more and view money as more expendable?
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) March 1, 2022
Also on Monday—the final day players can be waived and retain their playoff eligibility—it was reported that the Lakers plan on adding Augustin, who has played for 10 different franchises across 14 seasons. Augustin appeared in 34 games for the Houston Rockets in 2021-22. He's a career 38% three-point shooter.
The Lakers have largely operated without a true backup point guard after dealing Rajon Rondo. Kendrick Nunn has missed the entire season with a knee bone bruise.
Additionally, Los Angeles intends to sign Gabriel, a rangy, 6'9″ forward, to a two-way contract. The Lakers will have to cut either Mason Jones or Sekou Doumbouya to clear a two-way spot for Gabriel. The Lakers desperately need more depth at the 3 and 4 positions.
As Siver Screen and Roll's Harrison Faigen recalled, Gabriel is the high-score holder in the Lakers' notorious “Mentality” drill they utilize in pre-draft workouts.
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