The Los Angeles Lakers completely shook the NBA by pulling off a trade nobody thought was in the realm of possibility: swinging Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic. After a subsequent trade for Mark Williams fell through, the one — albeit minuscule compared to what Luka brings to LA — downside of trading for Doncic was the loss of size in the Lakers locker room.
Left without any real big outside of Jaxson Hayes, the Lakers were forced to mull through underwhelming options after the NBA trade deadline. Alex Len emerged as the best of those options and signed with the Lakers on a one-year deal.
Well, that one-year deal doesn't look like it is going to last the rest of the 2024-25 season. Despite making it this far, it appears the Lakers are on the precipice of moving on from the veteran center. The Lakers could be preparing to convert at least two of the team's two-way contracts to standard NBA deals, and to do so, would need to create two roster spots. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Len and Cam Reddish are the two favorites to get the ax.
"They're not waving [Markieff Morris], they're not waving Bronny, and they're not waving [Maxi] Kleber, as he still has another year left at $11 million. I think the roster is going to remain the same outside of potentially waving Len and Reddish, and again, they have to wave one of them for Jordan Goodwin," Buha said on his podcast (transcription via BasketNews).
"I think they should waive another one for [Trey] Jemison or [Christian] Koloko, so it's probably going to be 2, not 3," Buha continued.
Lakers may be on the brink of waiving Alex Len and Cam Reddish
If the Lakers do not convert Goodwin, Jemison, or Koloko to a standard NBA contract then they will not be eligible for the postseason. Ideally, the Lakers' title odds won't be decided by the backend of their rotation, but it is important the team maximizes its talent wherever it can.
Goodwin has become an important depth piece for the Lakers who has far more of an impact on the team than Len. Goodwin is averaging 7.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 22.1 minutes per game this season. The 26-year-old has scored 10 or more points in three of his last seven games and is averaging 28.9 minutes per game in that span.
Obviously, Goodwin's role will decrease when the team is fully healthy and shrinks the rotation in the NBA playoffs. But he is still far more impactful than Len, who is registering more DNPs than games played at this point in the season.
Waiving Len for Goodwin feels like a foregone conclusion at this point. The real question is whether or not the Lakers elevate a second player, who they choose to elevate, and if that leads to Reddish getting the boot as well.
Koloko and Jemison would theoretically replace Len's size and give the Lakers that extra body to throw at Nikola Jokic to pick up some fouls. For what Len's role should be in the playoffs, Koloko or Jemison can fill the gaps.
Los Angeles could waive Reddish over Len considering Goodwin doesn't replace Len's size. However, there is no such thing as too many wings in the NBA Playoffs, and with Reddish making more than double that of Len, the Lakers may factor in finances when making this decision (not that it impacts the luxury tax either way).