The Los Angeles Lakers have been among the most iconic American sports teams of all time. They enjoyed immense success throughout all these years. The Lakers are jointly the most successful side in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. Both great rivals have won the championship 17 times each. But the former have a bigger fan following than their rivals. Moreover, the LA side is famous for producing great players in the game.
Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant played for the Lakers throughout their careers and achieved immense success and greatness. Both these players have helped the Lakers win five titles each. Not everybody can turn into great rotation players like Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso of modern times with the LA franchise. Recently, the LA side waived Bryce Hamilton ahead of the training camp. Now, he will have to look elsewhere to groom his skill like Mac McClung had to find. Bryce Hamilton was a standout player for the LA side in the G League. Whenever any player stands out in the G League wearing the purple and gold jersey, people tend to take notice of possible greatness.
Why Did The Lakers Waive Bryce Hamilton?
Now, the question remains: why did the Lakers waive Hamilton despite his immense potential? Perhaps it is because they don’t have much space remaining in their current roster. There is only one space, and the ideal name who would get his place on the roster is D’Moi Hodge. But the Lakers didn’t have to leave Bryce Hamilton because of that. What if Hodge fails to convert his two-way deal into a standard NBA deal? Then, the Lakers would certainly miss Hamilton. Despite Bryce’s strong performance in the previous season, the Lakers didn’t think he was worth a two-way deal. However, Bryce Hamilton had an average of 14.1 points, 2.1 assists, and 4.6 rebounds in 29 games playing for the South Bay Lakers.
ROSTER UPDATE: The Los Angeles Lakers requested waivers on guard Bryce Hamilton.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 18, 2023
Initially, the Lakers signed Hamilton for Exhibit 10 deal. But they didn’t even try him in the preseason before waiving the talented youngster. Who knows what the future holds for the young Hamilton? Any team would be lucky to have him. There must be other teams that will provide Hamilton with a clearer path to playing time. However, Bryce Hamilton will be the second standout player from the South Bay Laker’s roster after Jay Huff, whom the LA side let go. The floor spacing center went on to sign a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets.
Magic Johnson & Kobe Bryant Have Been The Biggest Stars Of The LA Side
Erving ‘Magic’ Johnson was the most instrumental player in the Laker’s lineup back in the 1980s. Albeit, he started his NBA career in 1979. Magic Johnson was the most popular player of the ‘Showtime Lakers’ era. On the other hand, Kobe Bryant helped the LA side dominate the first decade of the 21st century, winning five titles. However, Kobe was not alone, as he had a great partner in Shaquille O’Neal, with whom he won three titles for the LA side. Later, O’Neal moved to the Miami Heat and won a championship with them.
But without Shaq, Kobe won twice with the LA side. After all these years, the Lakers have a knack for producing hidden gems in the NBA. For instance, Austin Reaves is a special talent, and the whole world accepts that fact now. Moreover, players feel that with the LA side’s talent grooming program, they can blossom into superstars of the future. Not everybody has the fortune like Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant to play for the LA side their whole life and blossom into greats of the game. There are some talents who had to look elsewhere to groom their own skills.
