Lakers Waive David Nwaba After Agreeing To Terms With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Trevor Lane
3 Min Read


The Los Angeles Lakers made their first major addition of the free agency period on Tuesday, landing highly sought-after guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on a one-year, $18 million deal, but it required a few other moves to be made. With only a little over $17 million in cap space available to give Caldwell-Pope, the Lakers opted to waive guard David Nwaba, whose contract was not guaranteed.

However, this move isn’t just about giving more money to Caldwell-Pope, and it hopefully won’t be the end of Nwaba’s time with the Lakers, either. In a series of tweets that are now looking prophetic, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explained the options available to the Lakers with Nwaba being waived:

Essentially, waiving Nwaba is a calculated gamble. He was one of the feel-good stories of last season for Los Angeles after going undrafted in the D-League and clawing his way onto the D-Fenders, where he caught the eye of their parent club. An opposing team can now claim Nwaba if they choose.

However, if this gamble pays off, not only will the Lakers free up the room to give Caldwell-Pope the money he wants, but they could also use the cap space created to give a long-term, team-friendly deal to impressive 42nd-overall pick Thomas Bryant, then add Rajon Rondo with the room exception, and then resign Nwaba. It’s a bit complicated, but this could be a painless move if Nwaba goes unclaimed.

It’s a risk but hopefully one that will pay off.

Trevor Lane is a longtime NBA and Los Angeles Lakers fan who had the good fortune to grow up during the glory days of the Showtime Lakers, when Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and the rest ruled the Great Western Forum. He has written about basketball, soccer, fantasy sports, MMA, and even pro wrestling over the course of his career, but the spectacle that is the Lakers is his true passion. He made the leap into podcasting for Lakers Nation and provides voice-over analysis for our YouTube channel. With a who's who of stars gracing the Lakers lineup over the years, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and many others, the Lakers always provide plenty to talk about. When he isn't writing or recording, Trevor can be found spending time with his wife and daughter or on the sidelines for one of the youth teams he coaches. Outside of the Lakers, Trevor is a supporter of the LA Galaxy, US Soccer, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Contact: trevor@mediumlargela.com
Exit mobile version