After five preseason games, the Lakers have made their third cut of the preseason. Reserve point guard Darius Johnson-Odom was released by the team as announced via press release by the team.
Johnson was picked by the Mavericks with the 55th overall pick in 2012 and was acquired by the Lakers that night. Johnson-Odom played in four games for the Lakers last season and in 13 games for the Lakers D-League Affiliate where he averaged 21 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Johnson-Odom’s release should come as a surprise to no one as the Lakers are already log-jammed at point guard with Steve Nash, Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake and still have to cut their roster down to 15 players.
With Johnson-Odom out of the contention, the final two spots will come down to Ryan Kelly, Elias Harris and Marcus Landry. Landry has struggled thus far in the preseason while Harris and Kelly are younger guys the team can develop through the D-League. While Mike D’Antoni hasn’t hinted at which two guys he’s going to keep out of the three, it wouldn’t be surprising if Landry ends up being the odd man out.
[showhide]LAKERS WAIVE DARIUS JOHNSON-ODOMEL SEGUNDO – The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Darius Johnson-Odom, it was announced today.
Johnson-Odom, the 55th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, was originally acquired by the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks on draft night. The 6-2 guard out of Marquette appeared in four games for the Lakers last season, where he totaled four rebounds and one assist in six minutes. Johnson-Odom also played in 13 games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders where he averaged 21.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 39.8 minutes. After being waived by the Lakers in January, the Raleigh, North Carolina native spent the remainder of the 2012-13 season playing in Russia for BC Spartak Saint Petersburg. Johnson-Odom then proceeded to participate in the 2013 NBA Summer League games in Orlando and Las Vegas as a member of the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.
Signed by the Lakers in September, Johnson-Odom played in three games this preseason, averaging 3.7 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 8.2 minutes.
The Lakers training camp roster now stands at 16 players.[/showhide]
