Lakers News: LA Unable To Re-Sign Newly Waived Stanley Johnson This Season
As the San Antonio Spurs waived Stanley Johnson over the weekend, many teams may jump to claim him off waivers—all teams besides the Los Angeles Lakers, that is. The Los Angeles Lakers are unable to claim Johnson since they were the last team to trade him, and it technically happened during the 2022-23 season.
NBA reporter Marc Stein and Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype explained the situation involving the Lakers’ inability to sign Johnson:
The 26-year-old was initially selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. Since then, he has spent time across various NBA and G League teams including the South Bay and Los Angeles Lakers.
Last season, Johnson played 48 games with the Lakers where he averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three. Despite Johnson's potential, the Lakers were unable to find a way to keep him on the roster.
In August 2022, the team decided to trade Johnson to the Utah Jazz with Talen Horton-Tucker, in a deal that sent Patrick Beverley to Los Angeles. Following Johnson's short-lived career in Utah, the Jazz waived him, and he then signed with the San Antonio Spurs. After the Spurs hit him with another recent waiver, he now finds himself in search of a new team, but unfortunately, he can’t return to the Purple and Gold.
Although the 6’6’’ small/power forward would have added value to this Lakers roster once more, that door has now closed. Luckily for LA, the front office did make a splash in acquiring another talent before the trade deadline including Rui Hachimura, D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley. The team will now focus on working with those latest pick-ups to make something shake in the second half of this season.
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