Getty Vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers walks to the court before a preseason game.
The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Skylar Mays to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Mays, waived by the Portland Trail Blazers, made an impression in two games against the Lakers this season, averaging a double-double (15 points and 10 assists).
In a 107-95 Portland loss to the Lakers on November 17, Mays scattered 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting with 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals in 26 minutes. Five days earlier, the 6-foot-3 Mays had 15 points and 12 assists with 4 rebounds against the Lakers.
Mays, a second-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, will give the Lakers a depth piece in their backcourt rotation hit by Gabe Vincent’s injury and D’Angelo Russell being in and out of the lineup.
Russell returned from a three-game absence due to a tailbone contusion and contributed 13 points, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block during Sunday’s 106-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Mays’ signing came after the Lakers plucked Dylan Windler from the Westchester Knicks last week, who was coming off a record-breaking 33-rebound performance in the G League.
Mays and Windler replaced undrafted rookies D’Moi Hodge and Alex Fudge as the Lakers’ two-way players. Holdover Colin Castleton completes the Lakers’ two-way spots.
Two-way players are allowed to be in the Lakers’ active lineup for 50 games in the regular season.
LeBron James Still Not Satisfied After Lakers Win Over Clippers
Lakers superstar LeBron James highlighted his 25-point performance during Sunday’s win with a thunderous slam over Clippers’ Paul George.
But he was far from satisfied.
James pointed out they still had “too many mistakes” as they barely beat the Clippers, nearly squandering a 10-point fourth-quarter lead.
“Try to use this to try to catapult a little bit better play from us,” James told reporters after the win. “But it still doesn’t take away from the fact of how we’ve been playing like the last 11, 12 games. Tonight was a good start. Hopefully, we can start from here and continue to build.”
Ty Lue Attends LeBron James Birthday Party Amid Darvin Ham Rumors
Clippers coach Ty Lue, who won a championship with James in Cleveland in 2016, attended James’ disco-themed 39th birthday party last week amid rumors of Darvin Ham’s seat warming up.
A Lakers loss to the Clippers on Sunday could have made the noise louder.
But James did not make any concerted effort to dispel the rumors surrounding their embattled coach.
“I’m just saying he’s trying to keep us prepared when it’s time to go out for battle,” James told reporters in a curt reply when asked how Ham is managing things through their recent struggles.
While he was not enthusiastic to talk about Ham, he turned passionate defending Lue when a reporter labeled the Clippers as James Harden’s team after their resurgence following the trade.
“Nah, it’s the T-Lue Clippers,” James said. “I know T-Lue very well. It doesn’t take T-Lue long to make sure sh*t gets right. It took him five games, and they’ve been cooking since.”
Despite losing to the Lakers, the Clippers have turned things around since a frigid start of the Harden era. Sunday’s loss was only the Clippers’ third in their last 17 games.
In contrast, Ham could not figure out the Lakers rotation after winning the In-Season Tournament. Sunday’s win was only their fourth over their last 14 games.