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Lakers News: South Bay G League Affiliate Signs Free Agent Center

The South Bay Lakers have signed their Jay Huff replacement.

Your Los Angeles Lakers' NBA G League affiliate club in El Segundo, the South Bay Lakers, are adding a new center to their roster, to replace the opening created when 7'1" big man Jay Huff was selected to represent Team USA as it plays two qualifying games for the 2023 FIBA World Cup this month.

South Bay has announced via Twitter that the team is inking 6'10" free agent center Derek Culver:

Culver, 24, went undrafted out of the University of West Virginia in 2021. Since then, he has been something of an NBAGL journeyman, hoping to latch on to an NBA roster. He has played for the Wisconsin Herd (the Milwaukee Bucks' affiliate) and the Delaware Blue Coats (the Philadelphia 76ers' affiliate) and the Mexico City Capitanes. 

Across 11 contests this season with the Capitanes (one start), Culver is averaging 3.3 points on 36.4% shooting, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists, in 12.6 minutes per. It's a far cry from his First-Team All-Big 12 final NCAA season with the Mountaineers in 2020-21, when he averaged 14.3 points on 47.8% shooting fro the floor, along with 9.4 rebounds, 1.1 dims, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks. Will Culver ever see the floor the LA Lakers? Unlikely, but time will tell.

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