Lakers to cut ties with veteran to sign breakout guard?

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Lakers predicted to cut ties with veteran to sign breakout guard

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Mar 5, 2025 9:45 AM ET

One of the surprising developments for the Lakers in the last month, since making the trade for Luka Doncic and sending out star big man Anthony Davis to the Mavericks, has been the way the team's defense has performed.

Going back to the All-Star break, a span covering seven games, the Lakers have allowed 101.0 points per game, the lowest in the NBA in that span. They've given up 40.7% shooting in that time, too, also No. 1 in the league.

One of the reasons for that defensive surge has been the on-ball defense of guard Jordan Goodwin, who has been with the Lakers on a two-way deal since Feb. 7. Over the weekend, coach JJ Redick said that Goodwin, who is dealing with an ankle injury, is expected to be part of the team's rotation going forward.

That will require the Lakers to reconfigure the roster, though, since Goodwin is a two-way player. If the Lakers want to use him in the playoffs, Goodwin will need to be signed to a standard NBA contract. Since the roster is currently full, the Lakers will need to cut a player to make room for Goodwin.

And while new signee Alex Len might be a good candidate to get the axe, he's one of the few big men on this roster. More likely, the odd man out will be Cam Reddish, who was part of the Lakers trade to the Hornets for big man Mark Williams, which was later rescinded.

"He does not have a place in that rotation, it will have to be him," one Western Conference executive said. "I am not sure Reddish still has a place in the league, really. But they need to keep (Goodwin) on the floor, no matter what. They could cut Bronny (James) but, you know, that's not happening. So it will have to be Cam."

Reddish is averaging just 3.3 points in 31 games this year. He has made only two appearances, for just 21 minutes, since Jan. 15.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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