The Lakers had an active NBA trade deadline.
The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the most active teams leading up to the NBA trade deadline. After shocking the NBA world by acquiring Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, they followed that up by addressing their center needs in Mark Williams in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets.
The trades left the Lakers’ roster a little thin at guard, and they brought in NBA veteran Jordan Goodwin on a two-way contract to help with that aspect, as per Shams Charania of ESPN.
The Lakers signed Goodwin to their roster on Friday by way of a two-way contract. The Lakers already had three two-way contract players in Christian Koloko, Trey Jemison, and Armel Traore, so in a related move, they cut Traore to make way for Goodwin.
Goodwin has only three years of NBA experience, making him eligible for a two-way contract. He had been playing in the G League this season with the South Bay Lakers.
Following the Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade, as well as the Mark Williams trade, the Lakers lost Max Christie, Dalton Knecht, and Cam Reddish leaving them thin in their wing rotation. Although on a two-way contract, Goodwin can help in that aspect.
Goodwin will be limited to only 50 NBA games, including any game that he’s on the active roster but does not play. He won’t be eligible for the playoffs unless the Lakers end up converting his contract to a standard deal. The Lakers have 33 regular-season games remaining.
Jordan Goodwin signs with Lakers
After spending last season splitting time between the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies, Goodwin joined the Lakers for training camp ahead of the 2024-25 season. He was one of the team’s final roster cuts in camp and had been playing in the G League with South Bay.
Goodwin had appeared in 14 games for South Bay during the regular-season portion of the G League schedule. He had been averaging 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 steals with splits of 40.7 percent shooting from the field, 30.1 percent shooting from the three-point line, and 82.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Goodwin began his NBA career with the Washington Wizards during the 2021-22 season after going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft. He appeared in two games with the Wizards after signing a 10-day contract that year.
The Wizards would bring Goodwin back for the 2022-23 season via a two-way contract. He was a part of the massive trade that sent Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns and was then rerouted to the Memphis Grizzlies. He finished out last season with the Grizzlies on a two-way contract.