The Lakers make a SNEAKY signing...

The Lakers have just made a sneaky signing in a move we did not entirely see coming with the team adding a much-needed big man to help address the team's early season struggles at the backup five spot and this young player has some upside with the size and skill and potential to make an impact on this team that is in need of a dire upgrade at that position. What's good? I'm Okichi Pakama and this is Lakers Digest coming to you with another video point to everything we have here for today's video guys. I just remind you guys to subscribe to the channel if you haven't already guys because we are trying to reach our goal of 23,000 subscribers before the end of the month and we're so close guys we're at 22,000 subscribers and there's only a couple more days here in October guys so if you guys are interested in all the content here at Lakers Digest make sure you guys are subscribed here at the channel at Lakers Digest y'all now with that out the way let's hop straight into the news that we have for you today as the Los Angeles Lakers had made a signing to really upgrade at the position of that backup five spot and the lakers just signed a big man to a two-way deal so the lakers have just uh made a signing of a big man um and to get to you hear his name because it is um one that i haven't heard before and i do some research on this guy because i didn't know too much about this player the lakers had signed here but this was um from Earlier today, reporting from Hoopsype, I believe, and then it was Michael Scudero who broke the report saying that the Los Angeles Lakers have signed big man Lawson Lovering to a two-way deal. And this was a seven-foot big man who averaged about seven points and seven and a half rebounds, but only in two games played last season for the Memphis Grizzlies. So take that with a bit of a grain of salt. But this is the player who the Lakers have just made a signing for. Now, before we get deeper into that, guys, I want to bring up our sponsor, and that is going to be Kalshi. And what is Kalshi? Some of you guys may be asking. Well, on Kalshi, you can trade directly against other users and not the house like a traditional sportsbook. And you are buying yes or no contracts on the outcomes of events across sports, politics, or even the weather. So if you're interested in trying out Kalshi, use the link in the description and the pinned comment. And use that code there, DIGESTNBA, as you use it to get $55 added in their account instantly when you trade for your first $25, guys. And I have some things that I'm looking at on the couch, you guys, that I will show you guys later on in the show. But let's get back here to our main story, talking about Lovering. I love that. Lawson Lovering is the player who the Lakers just made a signing for. And like I said, I didn't know too much about this guy, so I had to do a couple of research just to figure out who this player was who the Lakers signed to a two-way deal. and um this player Lawson Lovering is um a big man who can um definitely has some some good size to him seven foot one um with a seven foot five um wingspan there just a very solid uh stout player there and then there was um a time uh last season where he played against the Denver Nuggets and actually held his own for a couple possessions against Nikola Jokic which was very interesting that a guy uh um can actually hold up against a guy like Nikola Jokic in that type of field but like the Lakers it looks like they were going for a similar type of build to Walker Kessler so when they go to those backup units so they're still kind of playing that similar style of basketball while um you obviously have Luka, AR, and then Walker Kessler who are um going to be um the big three essentially where the Lakers kind of run all their stuff through so just I think defensively what J.J. Redick is probably trying to look for here along with Rob Pelinka is the Lakers are trying to find a way to kind of like bridge those minutes there that Walker Kessler does not play and then having a guy that has a similar architect to what you're trying to do in the starting group is where they're trying to do it with the backup spot there because so far the Lakers have not been getting too much out of Kevon Looney who has been a little bit of a disappointment at this early part of the season but for some people that was a little bit expected just because of the way that he's been trending these past couple of seasons there and then Mamou can be very electric offensively but defensively as a five there he does seem to struggle but there were some good things that were seen in that game the Lakers playing Mamu and Kessler there together there so there was some moments there that they had some good defensive moments so that is maybe a key here where the Lakers are trying to figure out a way to sort of like I said bridge that gap in between some of those minutes that Walker Kessler does not play because it's a real big fall off for the Los Angeles Lakers at that spot there but just like I said take a look at Lovering there as he's just a guy that numbers don't really tell too much of a tale because he only played two games um for the Memphis Grizzlies there uh last season and while he did uh play in summer league this guy is from um uh Utah over there he that's where he played some college ball and then really again his stats don't really pop off the page whatsoever but it's just some of the little things that a guy that pops up with um uh Loss and Lovering I picked up here this the scouting report talking about him and talking about how he was a seven foot one 233 pound um frame he's got he's fairly mobile but don't like that's a little bit with a grain of salt there he's not like a gonna be like an elite guy just switching out to guys there on the perimeter not even up to the level where Kessler does it and I don't think Kessler is like one of the better guys at it but he's pretty solid at it but um he's not that type of big but um not overpowering though tough um uh Lovering has a record of a combination of size and athleticism to continue professionally uh Lovering um managed the interior as a senior starter and as a role rim protector defensive communicator only averaged about uh 0.7 blocks per game but um he was a plus defender in various advanced metrics and unlike traditional back to the basket centers Loving is pretty capable as a passer averaging 2.7 uh assist while having knacking for finding cutters and lob opportunities so this guy seems to have a bit of a high basketball IQ there you know kind of being in the right spots seems like more of a positional style defender and then also collect combine that with his size then you can see why the Lakers were attracted to a guy like uh Lovering but that gets me here to my uh next point here um as the Lakers have a real backup big issue and they're trying to find ways to plug this hole essentially because like I said they weren't getting too much out of Kevon Looney in the minutes that he's played so far in the season and then Mamu while great offensively he is definitely going to struggle as the lone big at times and the Lakers have to do some interesting things whether it's you know run some more zone or you know um do a lot more switching peel switching things of that nature to kind of um counteract the fact that uh Mamu isn't the best defender there at the five so the Lakers are trying to find a solution to this and Lovering seems like the choice here at a two-way deal a very uh uh cost low option there by low because um you just waive a guy here as the Lakers um also made a corresponding move as they waived um AKaK Okarake off the two-way contract and he was one of the three guys who was on a two-way contract along with Chris Mannion and Arthur Koluma, but obviously Chris Mannion is a little bit more safe on that two-way contract, and then Koluma, who had a very nice summer league, I think was safer here. So Makaroke seemed like the guy who was just overlapping in skill. He was very similar also to Columa in just the way they played there, so it was kind of redundant for the Lakers. So it makes sense for the Lakers to try their hand out at Lom Lovering and see if he can make an impact for this team, because that size, you can't teach size, you can't teach people moving at that ability and that frame there so hopefully the Lakers can maximize and get the most out of a guy like Lovering because if they're able to find a backup big at a very cheap option then this can really elevate and help the team really help bridge those Kessler minutes that had all those non-Kessler minutes that have really been an issue these early parts of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers well I promise you guys some picks later on the show here's a couple things that I'm looking at here on Kaushi, and one of them is the MVP race as Luka Doncic continues to rise up in people's eyes. Just, you know, the games that he's been playing. He had a 41-point game last night against the Portland Trailblazers, and he's not going to play tonight against the LA Clippers as he's going to be out with back soreness, and it was more reported as he was just kind of trying to not take it easy here for the Los Angeles Lakers because the Lakers have I think it's like four games in like six nights, so just a lot of games here in a very small period of time so we want to keep luca fresh and healthy so nothing to worry about there for the lakers and then another thing that i'm looking at on Kowski is i am looking at austin Reeves and his chance to become a first time also which i think will be a great shot you know he's gonna have a i think a great game tonight as he's gonna be the lead ball handler and then like i said on Kowski all you gotta do is yes or no it is very simple and then put the amount that you would like to put and then it is just that simple and just uh i'm gonna pull up that uh promo code one more time for you guys so you guys remember that it is Digest NBA as new users get 55 added in their account instantly when you trade for your first 25 just a very solid deal and remember guys if you guys are on Kowski to play responsibly well that's gonna be it for this video guys let us know in the comments down below what do you think of Lawson Lovering first of all do you love his name because that's honestly that's that's a terrific uh sports name there right there and And just what do you think he can do if he can make an impact there at that two-way contract and see if he can possibly try to crack his way into that Laker rotation because how poor it's been for the Lakers at that back-up five spot there. Let us know in the comments down below. I've been your host, Okechi Opakuma, and I'll catch you guys on the next one.