Getty New Los Angeles Lakers guard Tres Tinkle.
Despite having success drafting players in recent years, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to sit out of the draft this year. They traded away the last of this year’s picks as part of the Dennis Schroder deal and didn’t try to trade back in. However, that’s not going to stop them from bringing in some rookies.
Per Jeff Goodman, the Lakers are signing former Oregon State star Tres Tinkle to an Exhibit 10 contract.
Former Oregon State standout Tres Tinkle is signing an exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers, per source.
Here’s the gist of what an Exhibit 10 contract is, according to Larry Coon:
If a standard NBA contract includes an attachment called Exhibit 10, the team receives the right to convert the contract to a Two-Way contract. Whether or not an eligible contract includes an Exhibit 10 is a matter of negotiation between the player and team. To be eligible to contain an Exhibit 10, a contract must be for one season at the minimum salary, with no bonuses of any kind (other than an optional Exhibit 10 bonus), and no compensation protection.
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Tinkle Was a Stud at Oregon State
Tinkle’s draft prospects were limited this year. He’s already 24 years old and played five years in college. That said, he was impressive during his time at Oregon State. He was First-Team All-Pac-12 each of the last three seasons and was part of the team when they made the NCAA tournament in 2016.
He averaged 17.7 points and 7 rebounds per game throughout his stint in college. He’s not a great 3-point shooter, which will hurt his chances of making a team but he knows how to score. The small forward has a long road to potentially earning a spot on the reigning champions but they’ve done a good job of developing young talent.
Young Lakers to Keep an Eye on This Season
Due to how quickly the turnaround is going to be for the Lakers, they might need to rely on some of their young pieces more than they have in the past. LeBron James is going to be 36 next month and Anthony Davis was banged up towards the end of the NBA Finals. The Lakers would be wise to limit their minutes to start the season.
In addition to Tinkle, Los Angeles also signed former Michigan State guard Zavier Simpson. Neither of the two rookies will likely have a chance to play this season but it’s good to have some youth around. One player who could see an expanded role this season is Talen Horton-Tucker.
The Lakers are very high on the second-year guard and even gave him some playing time in the playoffs. That was a big surprise considering he didn’t play in a single regular-season game before the bubble. Horton-Tucker played well when he was on the court so the Lakers would be wise to give him an expanded role this year. He’s got some more experience now and the team will need some young guys to step up.
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