When the Los Angeles Lakers put their roster together for the 2023-24 season, they thought they had the right mix of veterans and young players around LeBron James and Anthony Davis to compete for a championship.
So far though, things have not played out that way as the Lakers have really struggled in recent weeks to drop below .500 at 17-19.
There are a lot of factors that have played into that with injuries being a big one. The Lakers have had guys in and out of the lineup all season, which has not allowed them to build any sort of continuity with their lineups and rotations.
Additionally, the team’s rookies have not yet been able to contribute. First-round draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino missed significant time with a knee injury and is still working his way back, clearly needing to develop his game to play at the NBA level. The same can be said for second-round pick Maxwell Lewis and two-way players Colin Castleton, D’Moi Hodge and Alex Fudge, who have spent a majority of their time with the South Bay Lakers in the G League.
With the team continuing to struggle, it appears that Rob Pelinka felt that some changes needed to be made. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Lakers have agreed to sign former first-round pick Dylan Windler to a two-way contract:
G League G/F Dylan Windler has agreed on a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Windler had a 23-point, 33-rebound performance on Friday for the Knicks’ Westchester affiliate. pic.twitter.com/JXWAsnJ212
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 6, 2024
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers will waive Fudge in order to make room for Windler:
The Los Angeles Lakers will waive Alex Fudge in order to sign Dylan Windler to a two-way contract, sources told ESPN. As @wojespn first reported, LAL is bringing in the 6-6 wing who has shot 37.8% from 3 in his G League career.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 6, 2024
Windler was the 26th overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019 out of Belmont. He has appeared in 87 career NBA games with the Cavaliers and New York Knicks, averaging 3.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists while shooting 41.6% from the field and 32.5% from 3-point range in limited minutes.
The 27-year-old has looked good in the G League with the Westchester Knicks so far this season though, averaging 15 points and 14.3 rebounds, albeit in the small sample of just three games. He is coming off a ridiculous 23-point, 33-rebound performance on Friday night, which clearly got the Lakers’ attention.
Under the new CBA, teams can have three players on two-way contracts, which is why the Lakers had to waive Fudge to open up a spot. In six games with South Bay, Fudge has averaged 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists. It’s possible he stays with the organization if he cannot land a two-way contract elsewhere.
Lakers scouted Dylan Windler in college
Windler is a player that Pelinka and the Lakers are very familiar with as they scouted him all the way back in his college days when he played against Ja Morant.
He wound up going in the first round the same year the Lakers traded into the second round to draft Talen Horton-Tucker.
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