The Los Angeles Lakers elected to not make any big changes to their roster this offseason, only bringing in two rookies through the draft and a few more as undrafted free agents.
While that isn’t significant enough to get the team back into championship contention, the Lakers are clearly putting an emphasis on player development moving forward under new head coach JJ Redick due to the parameters of the new CBA.
The Lakers have found some diamonds in the rough before, with Alex Caruso and Austin Reaves being prime examples. It appears they are hoping that Quincy Olivari will be next in line as L.A. is signing the undrafted free agent to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources told Lakers Nation’s Trevor Lane.
Lakers have signed guard Quincy Olivari to an Exhibit-10 contract, sources tell @LakersNation
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) August 14, 2024
Olivari started his collegiate career with Rice, playing for the program for four years before transferring to Xavier for his final year of eligibility. In his lone season at Xavier, Olivari averaged 19.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 40.9% from 3-point range on 7.6 attempts.
At 6’3″ and 200 pounds, Olivari has a solid frame for a guard at the NBA level and has a great outside shooting stroke. He originally signed with the Lakers as an undrafted free agent shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 NBA Draft.
Olivari appeared in five Summer League games for the Lakers between the California Classic and Las Vegas, averaging 5.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game while shooting 28.6% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range. It’s hard to take too much away from those stats given the lack of consistent playing time.
However, the 23-year-old is a solid flier for an undrafted free agent and should get some looks in training camp and the preseason before likely joining the South Bay Lakers for the G League season.
Lakers’ schedule for group play of Emirates NBA Cup set
If Quincy Olivari is able to find his way onto the Lakers’ roster as a minimum or two-way player then he will have a chance to earn more money if the team can repeat as champions in the Emirates NBA Cup.
It was called the In-Season Tournament when the Lakers won it last year and were awarded $500,000 per player. The league rebranded it to the Emirates NBA Cup though and L.A. was placed in a group with the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder with the group stage schedule now set.
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