The Los Angeles Lakers announced that they have requested waivers on two-way forward Alex Fudge and two-way guard D’Moi Hodge.
The Lakers signed both players as undrafted free agents this past Summer. Hodge was originally signed to a two-way contract out of Missouri on July 3 and had an impressive Summer League, displaying his 3-and-D ability. He notably named former Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as a player he models his game after.
Hodge appeared in seven regular season games for the Lakers this season and averaged 1.0 points in 3.6 minutes. The British Virgin Islands native also played in 16 G League games with the South Bay Lakers this season, averaging 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 22.6 minutes.
Fudge signed on to play with the Lakers in Summer League after going undrafted out of Florida and displayed his versatility, leading to him landing a two-way contract a few weeks later on July 26.
Similar to Hodge, he played very sparing minutes for the Lakers this season at 3.6 in four games, averaging 1.0 points. Fudge played in 10 games with South Bay though and averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.6 blocks in 18.7 minutes.
The deadline for two-way contract to become guaranteed is this Sunday, so the Lakers are opening up a couple of two-way roster spots to add other players. It has already been reported that L.A. has agreed to sign wing Dylan Windler after his impressive performance for the Westchester Knicks in the G League on Friday night.
Windler had 23 points and a ridiculous 33 rebounds, obviously impressing the Lakers enough to bring him in on a two-way deal.
The Lakers also have one other two-way spot available after the surprise waiving of Hodge, which they could fill right away or wait to see who else becomes available. The Lakers also have a standard roster spot available with only 14 active players, and 10-day contract can begin being signed this week.
Colin Castleton is the one two-way player the Lakers chose not to waive, which isn’t surprising considering he is having an outstanding season so far with South Bay, averaging 18.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 blocks while shooting 60.1% from the field in 12 G League games.
Could D’Moi Hodge & Alex Fudge remain in Lakers organization?
With Hodge and Fudge now both being waived, other teams will have a chance to claim them if they have an open two-way spot. If Hodge and Fudge both go unclaimed and hit free agency though, then perhaps they will choose to remain with the South Bay Lakers to continue their development in the G League for the rest of the season.
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