The Los Angeles Lakers have officially acquired rookie forward Adou Thiero, the No. 36 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft as part of the first ever seven-team trade in league history. The Lakers made two trades on Day 2 of the draft to move up from No. 55 to No. 36 in order to bring Thiero to the purple and gold.
The Lakers have high hopes for the 6’8″ forward who has elite athleticism and could immediately contribute as a defensive stopper as he develops his offensive game. And now details have emerged on the deal Thiero signed with the Lakers with it reportedly being a two-year fully guaranteed contract with a third-year team option worth nearly $6 million, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype:
The Los Angeles Lakers signed No. 36 pick Adou Thiero to a 3-year, $5.95 million deal, which includes two fully guaranteed years and a third-year team option, sources told @hoopshype. He averaged 15.1 points on 54.5% shooting, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals for Arkansas as a junior pic.twitter.com/hzFstLAucf
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 7, 2025
There is no doubt that Thiero has a ton of potential and is one of the best athletes in this draft. He also takes pride in his defense and embraces his role as a perimeter stopper averaging 1.6 steals a game last season while also being a solid weakside shot blocker.
Offensively, it will be about improving as a 3-point shooter. He shot just 28.4% from deep in three collegiate seasons with his average lowering each year as his attempts increased. While he should be able to thrive off the ball as a slasher and cutter next to Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James his ability to consistently shoot from deep will be the key in how much he will be trusted by head coach JJ Redick.
One thing that is for sure is that Thiero will put in the work to be the best possible player he can be for this team. He has already spoken about how willing he is to do anything asked of him by the coaching staff and that work ethic will bode well for him as he develops.
It is notable that the Lakers were only able to get Thiero on a three-year contract instead of four, which is typically the case for second-round picks. If he pops and develops into a quality rotation player then he will have the ability to hit free agency a year early than most of the other 2025 draft picks.
Adou Thiero to miss Summer League with knee injury
Unfortunately, everyone will have to wait until the preseason to get their first look at Adou Thiero as the Lakers rookie will be sitting out Summer League as he finishes recovering from a knee injury he dealt with at Arkansas. He is reportedly in the final stages of his return-to-play program and should be good to go once training camp begins.
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