Report: Lakers Signing Former Rockets Forward to Roster

The Los Angeles Lakers caught everyone’s attention with their offseason additions. They also worked on the coaching staff. Guess what… The Lakers aren’t done yet, and they are now signing a former Houston Rockets forward Cam Oliver. This is another big move and Oliver will get an Exhibit 10 contract with the team. Jovan Buha from The Athletic was among the first to confirm the news.

In the 2020-21 NBA season, the veteran forward saw action in four games with the Rockets. He was averaging 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 19-of-33 from the field. Houston didn’t have much luck in the regular season and players didn’t even make the playoffs. James Harden’s departure made things even worse.

Cam Oliver is signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA.

The 25-year-old wing played four games with the Houston Rockets last season. He went undrafted in 2017.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) September 16, 2021

The Lakers are signing the Rockets forward without a major goal

Oliver made a few stops in the NBA. He went undrafted out of Nevada and joined the Wisconsin Herd and Delaware Blue Coats in the G League. He spent a big portion of the last two years in the Australian NBL. Oliver measures at 6’8, and teams have him playing small-ball because he is an undersized center.

Oliver has a chance to make the active roster. Well, Pelinka has DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard returned to the team. There is not much room for Oliver at this point.

Let’s go through this Exhibit 10 contract. It’s a non-guaranteed deal and it’s actually considered a training camp invite. Players who are cut by their teams can earn up to $50,000 if they ink with their former team’s G League affiliate and play at least two months.

The Lakers’ training camp roster has 18 players. NBA teams are allowed to have a maximum of 20 players. The front office in LA can sign two more players. These can get a guaranteed or non-guaranteed contracts.

We have a feeling that this contract is nothing but a training camp invite. The Lakers have to stretch a lot to fit Oliver in their roster. They brought Jordan these days and they won’t really let him go just to play Oliver.