Lakers News: Veteran Guard Signing with South Bay Squad

Los Angeles' developmental program is getting some seasoned help.

Mar 31, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Chris Paul (3) dribbles past San Antonio Spurs guard Devonte' Graham (4) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Longtime NBA guard Devonte' Graham, who failed to latch on with a team after being cut from the Portland Trail Blazers' preseason roster, is joining the G League affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers, the South Bay Lakers, reports NBA insider Marc Stein.

Graham had an incredibly underwhelming showing with Portland during his two preseason appearances this October.

Across 13.2 minutes per bout, the 29-year-old logged miserable averages of 1.0 points (while connecting on a whopping zero percent of his looks from the floor and 66.7 percent of his shooting from the charity stripe), 2.5 dimes, 1.5 boards and 0.5 swipes.

Graham has spent his six NBA seasons so far with the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans Pelicans. In 366 career regular season games, including 171 starts, the 6-foot-1 point guard posted averages of 11.1 points while shooting .371/.354/.812, 4.3 dishess, 2.3 rebounds and 0.8 steals.

During his best NBA run, his 2019-20 sophomore pro season with the Charlotte Hornets, Graham notched an impressive 18.2 points on .382/.373/.820 shooting splits, 7.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He played in 63 contests during the team's COVID-19-shortened season, starting 52.

Graham will be on the roster prior to the G League Showcase, slated for December 19-22 next week. It appears unlikely, however, that Graham will join South Bay in Tempe, Arizona for the team's second clash against the Phoenix Suns' NBAGL team, the Valley Suns, on Friday night. That matchup is slated to tip off at 6 p.m. PT.

South Bay has gone 4-9 so far this year. Rookie point guard Bronny James, the 20-year-old son of 20-time All-Star power forward LeBron, has appeared in four games for South Bay, essentially splitting his first pro season between L.A. proper and the team's El Segundo affiliate. The 6-foot-2 USC product is posting good-not-great averages of 14.0 points while shooting .404/.158/.667, plus 3.0 boards, 2.5 dimes, 1.0 rejections and 0.8 swipes a night.

Two-way Lakers point guard Quincy Olivari, an undrafted rookie out of Xavier, has been the South Bay's standout star so far, logging solid averages of 18.6 points (while slashing .386/.407/.821), 4.4 dishes, 3.6 boards and 0.6 steals in his seven games with the team as of this writing.

UPDATE:

South Bay has now officially confirmed the signing via the program's X account.

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