LOS ANGELES — The Lakers added another big man to their mix on Wednesday afternoon when they reached an agreement with 7-foot center Lawson Lovering on a two-way contract, a league source who was familiar with the deal but was unauthorized to speak publicly told the Southern California News Group.
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In a corresponding move, the Lakers waived forward AK Okereke, who signed a two-way contract with the Lakers following the 2026 NBA Draft and spent time with the franchise through summer league play and into training camp, the source said.
Lovering, 23, immediately slots in as the tallest player off the bench available for Coach JJ Redick should the Lakers make him active for NBA games.
Last season, Lovering spent most of the year with the Memphis Hustle of the G League and had a short stint with the Memphis Grizzlies when they signed the Utah product to a 10-day contract. In a pair of NBA games, Lovering averaged 7.0 points and 7.5 rebounds. In the G League, Lovering averaged 7.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game in 30 games.
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Backup center Kevon Looney – who slots in behind Walker Kessler in rotational minutes – played just five minutes in Tuesday night’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, with Redick inserting stretch-five big man Sandro Mamukelashvili into the game for Kessler during the first quarter.
Looney, who has averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds per game through four games so far this season, previously entered in that first-quarter spot in the rotation. Looney’s -6.5 plus-minus equals nearly one opposition point per minute that the veteran center is on the floor so far, with the 6-9 brute averaging 7.3 minutes per game.
Adding Lovering gives Redick another option off the bench as the Lakers continue down a stretch of five games in seven nights.
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