The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Johnathan Williams to a two-way contract and waived Travis Wear.
Although the Lakers had one roster spot remaining, they opted to maintain flexibility by having 14 players and two two-way players (Alex Caruso).
Williams, who was recently waived prior to the 2018-19 NBA regular season, has played for the Lakers at Summer League and preseason.
After playing well in Sacramento and Las Vegas, the 23-year-old appeared in all six preseason games and averaged 6.8 points (51.6 percent shooting from the field) and 4.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes.
As for Wear, he has spent the last three seasons between the Lakers and the team’s G League affiliate, South Bay Lakers.
After spending most of the 2017-18 regular season in the G League, the Lakers signed Wear to two 10-day contracts. In 17 games, the 28-year-old averaged 4.4 points (36.2 percent from the three-point line) and 2.2 rebounds in 13.4 minutes.
Despite signing a two-way contract during the offseason, Wear appeared in all six preseason games but only averaged 4.5 points (55.6 percent from the three-point line) and 1.8 rebounds in 9.0 minutes.
Following the team’s practice, head coach Luke Walton discussed the move as they prepare for the Houston Rockets in the home opener.
“To me, if defense is our priority, we need some versatile defenders,” Walton said. “I thought (Williams) had done a really nice job for us all training camp.”
With the Lakers only have three true centers, Williams has a grand opportunity in front of him.
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