New Lakers Guard Reveals Why He Chose LA Over East Contender

A fresh addition to the Los Angeles Lakers reveals why he opted to join L.A. amidst overtures from a rival Eastern Conference contender.

The Lakers inked undrafted free agent guard Augustas Marciulionis to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal earlier this summer.

During a new interview with Vaidas Jukavicius of BasketNews, Marciulionis revealed that the Milwaukee Bucks were fighting with L.A. for an opportunity to bring the Saint Mary's product aboard for training camp.

"It was very strange (laughs)," Marciulionis explained. "That whole period of uncertainty — when I didn't know how things would turn out — was tough. And then the Lakers option came along. But there's still a lot to prove and a lot of work to earn a full contract.

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Exhibit 10 contracts are non-guaranteed deals, and can be converted to two-way contracts. If a player is waived before training camp and joins a club's G League affiliate for at least 60 days, they'll become eligible for a bonus worth up to $75K.

Given L.A. deep and talented backcourt, it seems likely that a long-term stint with the South Bay Lakers could be in Marciulionis' immediate future.

"They showed me a lot of attention both in interviews and when it came to signing," Marciulionis said. "I'm glad I'm in a good environment that believes in me — that's the most important thing."

"I think all the chances are in my hands," Marciulionis claimed. "I just need to stay healthy and play well. Of course, I believe I can do it. I hope everything will be fine."

Los Angeles Over Milwaukee

"The attention was similar from both teams," Marciulionis said. "But in Los Angeles, there were more people my agent and I knew and trusted. We understood the situation better there.

"For some reason, L.A. just felt like the right choice," Marciulionis said. "Still, it wasn't easy because I don't know that much about the NBA environment yet. But we thought this was the best place for me."

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The 6-foot-4 swingman guided the Gaels to a pair of West Coast Conference titles, while earning WCC MVP honors in each of those two seasons. Across 35 contests last year, he averaged 14.2 points on .446/.347/.793 shooting splits, 5.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals a night.

Marciulionis fell out of draft consideration when he broke his foot prior to June's 2025 NBA Draft.

"I probably got injured at the worst possible moment," Marciulionis acknowledged. "The strangest thing is that I never had a single injury in college and never missed a game. ... Now, I'm almost ready to play. At first, it seemed like it would take forever, but time flew by."

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