After deciding to trade Anthony Davis and Max Christie to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers guard and center depth took a hit. This means they have had to rely on two-way players like Jordan Goodwin, Trey Jemison and Christian Koloko.
Ideally, head coach JJ Redick would have more experienced options, but he has no choice. However, all three of those players have answered the call and Goodwin has even become a mainstay in the Lakers’ rotation.
Jemison has also provided meaningful minutes at times with his energy and Koloko’s athleticism as a lob threat has shown flashes with Doncic. All that being said, those three can now be converted to standard contracts to become playoff-eligible without the Lakers going above the second apron of the salary cap, via Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron:
Lakers can now convert all three of Jordan Goodwin, Trey Jemison, & Christian Koloko at once to standard contracts, allowing them to be playoff-eligible.
The prorated minimum salary decreased enough for this to be a possibility starting today while staying below their hard cap. https://t.co/JIDfV55NJJ
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) March 21, 2025
Despite the Lakers having the ability to convert all three, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, it’s more likely the Lakers sign Goodwin and one of the centers with Cam Reddish and Alex Len being the prime candidates to be waived:
“There’s a chance [of all three two-way guys being converted], but realistically, it’s probably not gonna happen just because I think that the only two obvious players to cut on the roster are Cam Reddish and Alex Len. Shake Milton has two more years of a non-guaranteed contract, which could be a valuable trade ship. Markieff Morris is a beloved figure in the locker room. He’s an internal leader; Luka loves him, and LeBron loves him. They’re not waiving Kieff, they’re not waiving Bronny, and they’re not waiving [Maxi] Kleber, as he still has another year left at $11 million. I think the roster is going to remain the same outside of potentially waiving Len and Reddish, and again, they have to waive one of them for Jordan Goodwin. I think they should waive another one for [Trey] Jemison or [Christian] Koloko, so it’s probably going to be two, not three.”
General manager Rob Pelinka will have a decision to make in terms of whether he converts Goodwin, Jemison or Koloko. The no-brainer decision is signing Goodwin as Redick has been outspoken about his impact on the team since re-joining.
Jemison and Koloko may also both need to be converted to simply have bodies available. Should Jaxson Hayes miss time or suffer from foul trouble in a playoff series, it is better to have more options available and both Jemison and Koloko have proven to be valuable pieces at times.
Regardless, the Lakers have now reached the point in the season where they can convert all three and remain compliant with the CBA. They would of course need to waive three guys to make that happen though, so the more likely scenario is making two roster moves, signing Goodwin and either Jemison or Koloko and waiving Reddish and Len.
Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, Goodwin has three games of two-way eligibility left before needing to be converted, so a decision on him will need to come soon.
Austin Reaves believes Jordan Goodwin deserves standard NBA contract
Once the Lakers brought in Luka Doncic, their team defense surprisingly went up a notch. An underrated piece of that was Jordan Goodwin, who is essentially trying to fill the void of Max Christie’s departure.
Goodwin was signed to a two-way deal and quickly ascended the rotation due to his willingness to do the little things. Austin Reaves believes that Goodwin deserves a standard NBA contract as L.A. could certainly use him come playoff time.
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