The Los Angeles Lakers made a signing just a week before the 2023-24 season began and it caught the fanbase by surprise. It was reported on Wednesday afternoon that the team agreed to terms with former Philadelphia 76ers wing, Louis King.
While the news of a Lakers signing seems to be a big deal, this is not something that is going to have legitimate consequences for the Lake Show. King is being signed to an exhibit-10 contract and his future lies with the South Bay Lakers, not the Los Angeles Lakers.
On the same day of the signing, it was announced that South Bay traded for King’s G League player rights. The Lakers signing him was simply to dot the Is and cross the Ts and get him in the building sooner to eventually be assigned to South Bay.
TRADE 🚨
— South Bay Lakers (@SouthBayLakers) October 18, 2023
The #SBLakers have acquired the returning player rights to forward @LouisKing from the @RGVVipers as part of a three-team trade. In return, South Bay sent its own 2024 first-round draft pick to RGV and sent the returning player rights to @3five_ to the @ChargeCLE. pic.twitter.com/o8IEXVxVI5
Lakers’ Louis King signing is simply to replace an old fan favorite, Cole Swider
The Lakers signed Cole Swider as an undrafted free agent after the 2022 NBA Draft and it did not take long for him to become a fan favorite. His shooting numbers with Syracuse certainly stood out and his play with the team during the 2022 Summer League only raised his stock.
Swider signed a two-way deal with the Lakers and it appeared as if he had a promising future with the team. However, despite his strong offensive numbers, Swider’s terrible lack of defense was always going to keep him from getting a roster spot with a contender like the Lakers.
That is why the team ultimately decided to part ways with Swider this summer. Swider didn’t have a path to playing in Los Angeles and the team did him a favor to allow him to pursue another opportunity where he could maybe get NBA playing time.
The King signing simply fills in the gap that Swider left behind in South Bay. King is another ball-handling forward who has a very promising three-point shot and could thrive offensively in the G League. Like Swider, the player development team will get their hands on King and see if there is some untapped potential that other teams have not found.
The odds of King becoming some kind of impactful player for the Lakers in the future are small but at least the team still has a solid shooter to develop down in the G League. It truly represents the best of both worlds. Swider gets a chance to pursue something else and the Lake Show ends up getting a very similar project to work on.