Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players who could be waived for a buyout signing

3. Jared Dudley

Man, what a life that Jared Dudley has. He is getting paid seven-figures to sit on the end of the Los Angeles Lakers’ bench, hang out with the guys as a locker room veteran and trash talk star players such as Paul George.

Heck, Dudley even wrote a book about his experience in the NBA bubble. The book is super short (42 pages), which still accounts for more pages than minutes Dudley played in the NBA Playoffs.

Dudley has not seen a jump in playing time this season. The only players that have fewer minutes played than Dudley this season are the two-way players in Kostas Antetokounmpo and Devontae Cacok. Dudley has played a grand total of 22 minutes.

Just based on playing time and the impact the player has on the court, Dudley should be the favorite to get waived. He does not really add anything to the Lakers on the court and at least with Cook and McKinnie, there is some potential there.

Dudley is a veteran who was not exceptional, to begin with, and is not getting any better any time soon.

The one thing saving Dudley that might make the Lakers waive someone else is that locker room presence. Dudley really does appear to have respect in that locker room — which can be more valuable than the minimal minutes that Cook actually plays over Dudley.