Los Angeles Lakers waive Zach Norvell Jr., sign Devontae Cacok as replacement
The Los Angeles Lakers have made a change to their two-way players, waiving Zach Norvell Jr. and replacing him with Devontae Cacok.
The Los Angeles Lakers are shaking up their roster. No, they are not acquiring Andre Iguodala, at least not yet, from the Memphis Grizzlies. Instead, they are shaking up the end of their roster, changing their two-way players.
The team has decided to waive two-way player, rookie Zach Norvell Jr. In his place, the team will be signing fellow South Bay Lakers player, Devontae Cacok, to a two-way deal.
The Lakers are waiving guard Zach Norvell Jr. and signing forward Devontae Cacok to a two-way contract, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 11, 2019
Both players went undrafted during the 2019 NBA Draft, allowing the Lakers to scoop them up shortly after. Norvell was quickly signed to a two-way deal, while Cacok was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal, which has now been upgraded.
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Norvell was struggling with his shot this season in the G League. He was making only 35.3 percent of his shots and 33.7 percent from the 3-point line. The former Gonzaga product is averaging 13.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Cacok, on the other hand, is on a record-setting pace.
Cacok is averaging 16.2 points per game, which is second on the team, making 66.9 percent of his shot attempts. He is struggling from the foul line, making only 50 percent, but he is dominating on the glass.
The former UNC-Wilmington product is leading the team with 11.7 rebounds per game, including 4.3 per game on the offensive glass. He ranks fifth in the G League in rebounds per game but has put himself in some great company with his production.
For a player that went undrafted and had arguably his biggest knock against him during the draft process was his size, Cacok is making quite a statement in the early going of his professional career.
Fun fact: Cacok's current TRB% is better than the 24.1 average that Angel Delgado maintained last year in Agua Caliente. Delgado had the best rebounding season in G League history and was Rookie of the Year. https://t.co/soYPApS5eH
— Ridiculous Upside (@RidicUpside) December 11, 2019
Along with Cacok, the Lakers also have Kostas Antetokounmpo on a two-way deal. While many people will argue that Norvell has more upside than Kostas, the reasoning for keeping and hopefully developing him is clear. He is the younger brother to reigning league MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Having a legal in for a superstar is never a bad thing. Look how that worked out when the Lakers signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who happened to share an agent with LeBron James.
The organization came out winners in that situation and could be looking to strike gold again. As for Cacok, he looks to be yet another gem unearthed by the team’s scouting department.
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Hopefully, he can follow the same path that David Nwaba and Alex Caruso did before him and he can help make an impact for the NBA Lakers at some point.