It's finally happening: Darren Collison is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

On Friday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers announced two more signings via hardship exception as they continue to be depleted by the COVID-19 health and safety protocols: Collison and Stanley Johnson. According to Woj, the Lakers hope both players are available to play against the Brooklyn Nets on Christmas Day.

The additions of Collison and Johnson are the fourth and fifth replacement players the Lakers have signed in recent days. Los Angeles picked up veteran point guard Isaiah Thomas via hardship exception, then added G-Leaguers Mason Jones and Jemerrio Jones. Teams are allowed to exceed the 15-player roster limit to sign players on 10-day contracts if they have four or more players out with injury or illness.

The Lakers have seen nine different players enter protocols in the past week – some of which have rejoined the team. As of Christmas Eve, Kent Bazemore, Austin Reaves, Avery Bradley, Malik Monk, and Trevor Ariza remain in protocols, while Anthony Davis and Kendrick Nunn are out with injury.

The Lakers have dropped four straight ball games. Despite 66 combined points from LeBron James and Russell Westbrook vs. the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, the Lakers bench was outscored 69-20 by the Spurs bench, and the Lakers defense surrendered 138 points at home. Afterward, James expressed his exasperation at the number of players who remain in protocols, particularly the defensive specialists.

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Collison, an 11-year NBA veteran, last played in the NBA in 2018-19, when he started 78 games for the Indiana Pacers. He was a mentor and teammate of Russell Westbrook while at UCLA. Over the past two seasons, the California native has been repeatedly recruited by the Lakers and worked out for the team this past summer.

Collison averaged 11.2 points and 6.0 assists per game in 2018-19. He shot 40.7% from deep.

Johnson, a 6-6 forward, played 61 games for the Toronto Raptors in 2020-21. He began the 2021-22 season with the South Bay Lakers, then signed with the Chicago Bulls on a 10-day contract, but he didn't appear in a game.