The Los Angeles Lakers announced that they have signed Adou Thiero, who they drafted with the No. 36 overall pick in the second round, to his rookie contract. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Thiero was officially acquired by the Lakers as part of a historic seven-team trade that notably landed Kevin Durant with the Houston Rockets. The Lakers’ only involvement in the deal was trading the No. 45 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and cash to the Minnesota Timberwolves fort the No. 36 pick, which ended up being Thiero.
The 21-year-old played three collegiate seasons, two at Kentucky and last year at Arkansas where he averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals on 54.5% shooting. Overall in 72 games at the collegiate level, Thiero averaged 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 51.4% from the field.
After being drafted by the Lakers, Thiero expressed his excitement to join the organization and get to work.
“It feels good, dream come true. Just happy to be here,” Thiero said. “Playing for the Lakers too, that’s a blessing for sure.”
Unfortunately, it will be a while before Thiero takes the court in a Lakers uniform as he is still recovering from a knee injury that he dealt with at Arkansas and will not be able to play in Summer League. The forward is expected to be ready in time for training camp though, which is good news.
Rob Pelinka: Lakers had first-round grade on Adou Thiero
It’s not a surprise that the Lakers traded up to draft Adou Thiero as Rob Pelinka recently revealed that they had a first-round grade on him.
“We were super aggressive to begin the day knowing that we didn’t have a first-round pick,” Pelinka said after the draft. “Adou was projected by our scouts as a first-round talent and so we were able to turn 55, which is a late-second round pick to a high second-round pick to pick a player that we had projected in the first round. So it’s almost like having the first-round pick that we traded out. Tons of credit, thankful for the support of Jeanie to allow us to be aggressive and use resources to win at the margins, move up in the draft and get a player that we really think is gonna dimensionalize our roster.
“We just felt like one of the things we need to address was to get younger and more athletic on the wings. Being able to get a player like Adou that can catch lobs from the corner when Luka is making paint decisions I think is gonna be really special. And then he’s just got big shoulders, big chest, a guy that’s gonna play defense and add some physicality and athleticism to our roster. So super excited about that.”
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