{"id":160873,"date":"2025-09-29T15:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T19:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=160873"},"modified":"2025-09-29T15:00:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T19:00:26","slug":"lakers-nick-smith-jr-two-way-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/29\/lakers-nick-smith-jr-two-way-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Add Young Sharpshooter on Two-Way Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ECreates88\/status\/1972704767274262892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1972704767274262892%7Ctwgr%5E832e6b6d5fda117dd7f10efc81d9f738a2965db0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.silverscreenandroll.com%2Flakers-news%2F95986%2Flakers-news-nick-smith-jr-two-way-contract-training-camp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">filled their final two-way contract spot<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ahead of Monday\u2019s media day, bringing in 21-year-old guard <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nick Smith Jr.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The former first-round pick enters his third year in the league with plenty of potential as a three-level scorer.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Lakers Add Young Sharpshooter on Two-Way Contract<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Lakers Sign Nick Smith Jr.<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 27th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Smith Jr. enjoyed a rotational role on the struggling Charlotte Hornets last season. In 60 games (27 starts), the former Arkansas Razorback averaged 9.9 points per game on 39% shooting from the field, 34% from three and 93% from the free-throw line. He notably shot 43% from deep as a rookie, albeit on a more limited volume (63 makes of 146 attempts).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smith\u2019s recent highlights showcase some creative ball-handling along with smooth shooting from the midrange and perimeter. While the 6\u20192\u201d guard will struggle to see consistent opportunities on a contender, he has the experience to step in should injuries arise.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Stay sleep\u2026 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Sa6Yv9vfvO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Sa6Yv9vfvO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Nick Smith Jr (@lif3nick) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lif3nick\/status\/1944217753159672022?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smith Jr. joins <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kolokch01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christian Koloko<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/manonch01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chris Ma\u00f1on<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as the <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.silverscreenandroll.com\/lakers-news\/95986\/lakers-news-nick-smith-jr-two-way-contract-training-camp?utm_campaign=dhtwitter&amp;utm_content=%3Cmedia_url%3E&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lakers\u2019 two-way contract<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> signees. In order to make room for him, the team waived center <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kelleky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kylor Kelley<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who played 11 games last season between the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_157244\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-157244\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-157244 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25890303_168401876_lowres-1-1024x717.jpg\" alt=\"Apr 9, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr. (8) passes against Toronto Raptors guard A.J. Lawson (0) during the third quarter at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images\" width=\"640\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25890303_168401876_lowres-1-1024x717.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25890303_168401876_lowres-1-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25890303_168401876_lowres-1-768x538.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25890303_168401876_lowres-1-1536x1075.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25890303_168401876_lowres-1-2048x1434.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-157244\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apr 9, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr. (8) passes against Toronto Raptors guard A.J. Lawson (0) during the third quarter at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><b>More Moves Ahead of Training Camp<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The addition of Smith Jr. came after the <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Trevor_Lane\/status\/1972100868205170780\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lakers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> brought in two other players on training camp contracts, both of whom also enter with NBA experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forward <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/watsoan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anton Watson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> played nine games for the Knicks after he was waived by the Celtics in March. The former second-round pick had a productive season with Boston\u2019s G League affiliate, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/gleague\/players\/w\/watsoan01d.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">averaging<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 12 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Maine Red Claws. In those 21 games (18 starts), he shot 43% from the field and 31% from deep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Guard <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willije02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nate Williams<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> joins the Purple and Gold after three years between the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets. Williams had a brief yet promising stretch for the Blazers in 2022-23. In five games (four starts) toward the end of the regular season, he averaged 10.6 points on 61% shooting from the field and 37% from three. He hasn\u2019t been able to find that same consistency in Houston, however, averaging three points in 42 games over the last two years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both Watson and Williams are long shots to make the roster, but given their Exhibit 10 contract status, they can still find a home with LA\u2019s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. LA has found <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/27\/lakers-reward-jordan-goodwin-standard-contract\/\" target=\"_self\">success stories<\/a> through the G League before. Perhaps they can do it again this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lakers filled their final two-way contract spot ahead of Monday\u2019s media day, bringing in 21-year-old guard Nick Smith Jr. The former first-round pick enters his third year in the league with plenty of potential as a three-level scorer. Lakers Add Young Sharpshooter on Two-Way Contract Lakers Sign Nick Smith Jr. The 27th pick in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":160877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62,3],"tags":[4757],"class_list":["post-160873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-nick-smith-jr"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160873"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":160884,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160873\/revisions\/160884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}