As the Los Angeles Lakers look to get younger with their final available roster spots, they were linked to a potential reunion with Svi Mykhailiuk.
The Lakers originally drafted Mykhailiuk in the second round in 2018 out of Kansas and although he showed a lot of promise, they wound up trading him less than a year later.
Now, Mykhailiuk is 24 years of age and one of the best free agents left on the market. Considering cap space across the league has dried up, it was thought that the Lakers could potentially bring Mykhailiuk in on a minimum contract to secure their depth on the wing.
It appears that won’t be happening though as Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that Mykhailiuk has instead found a two-year contract with the Toronto Raptors:
Free agent G/F Svi Mykhailiuk has agreed to a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors, his agency @SIGSports tells @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 28, 2021
The Raptors are a younger, rebuilding team that could offer Mykhailiuk both more money and opportunities for playing time, so this move makes sense.
Myhailiuk is still just 24 years of age and is coming off a season in which he averaged 8.1 points on 41.1% shooting in 66 games with the Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder and should be able to build off that in Toronto.
As far as where the Lakers stand, they still have three open roster spot but reports indicate they may go into the season with 14 instead of 15 players, so they may only fill two of them this offseason.
Lakers favorites to land Rondo
It became clear this weekend who would be taking one of those spots as Rajon Rondo agreed to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and is reportedly expected to sign with the Lakers when he clears waivers.
That was announced shortly before Mykhailiuk signed with the Raptors, so perhaps the Lakers were deciding between the two players and ultimately learned they’d be able to reunite with Rondo and went that direction instead.
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