Preseason games may not count for anything in the grand scheme of it all but that does not stop basketball fans from getting attached to certain players and narratives. That is certainly true of Los Angeles Lakers fans, who took a liking to undrafted guard RJ Davis.
Constructing an NBA roster is a numbers game and even with a strong preseason performance, the numbers were not on Davis' side. Davis was one of four players waived by the Lakers on Saturday with the preseason officially coming to a close.
Augustus Marciulionis, Anton Watson, and Nate Williams were also part of the roster trimdown. It's hard to imagine any of those players getting the kind of chance Davis will likely get elsewhere, as there is somewhere in the NBA for the talented young guard to take a roster spot.
Lakers had no choice but to waive RJ Davis despite showing potential in preseason
Davis finished his first NBA preseason with an impressive stat line. The former UNC guard averaged 8.6 points points on 50% shooting from both the field and the three-point line in 16.1 minutes per game.
Davis scored 10 or more points in three of the five preseason games he appeared in. He did not play in the Lakers' last preseason game on Friday night, which should have been an indication of his fate.
There simply was not enough room for Davis despite his potential as a heat-up bench scorer in the regular season. The guard rotation is already set in stone, especially with Bronny James potentially having a role on this year's team, albeit a small one.
Offensively, Davis did outplay James despite getting less playing time in the preseason. However, Davis' dad isn't the superstar of the team, and as an undersized guard, he doesn't provide nearly the defensive upside that Bronny does.
Watson and Williams both received limited playing time throughout the season but they were not nearly as memorable as Davis. They will fight for a G League roster spot somewhere in the league. Davis will likely end up in the G League to start, but has a much better chance of getting a roster elevation at some point this season.
This was the Lakers' last step before kickstarting the 2025-26 season on Tuesday. The Lake Show will start its first full season with Luka Doncic without LeBron James as he recovers from a back injury.