On January 9, Beijing time, the Lakers continued to recruit and signed Trail Blazers abandoned Skyler Mays with a two-way contract. At this point, the Lakers have completed the adjustment of players on two-way contracts. Previously, the Lakers cut Hodge and Fudge and signed Knicks abandoned Vindler.
Mays is 1.93 meters tall, 26 years old, mainly playing the point guard position, playing 21 games for the Trail Blazers this season, averaging 6.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, shooting 38.4% from the field, 28.6% from three-point range, and 76.5% from the free throw line. Mays was selected by the Hawks with the 50th overall pick in the second round in 2020 and spent two seasons with the Hawks, including last season with the Trail Blazers, where he averaged 15.3 points and 8.3 assists per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three-point range.
Mays has been inconsistent this season, but he's been in good form in two games against the Lakers. On November 13, the Trail Blazers lost to the Lakers 110-116, Mays had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 12 assists, and made 0 of 4 three-pointers. On November 18, the Trail Blazers lost to the Lakers 95-107, Mays had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, and shot 3 of 7 from three-point range.
In other words, in the two games against the Lakers, Mays scored 30 points, 9 rebounds and 20 assists. However, in two games, he shot 3-of-11 from three-point range. Mays was previously cut by the Trail Blazers, and the Lakers quickly signed him.
The Lakers tweaked players on two-way contracts, cut Hodge and Fudge, signed Vindeler and Mays, and only made minor repairs to the bench lineup, and it is impossible to expect them to play the savior with the Lakers. None of them have such ability and potential. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been cut by the Knicks and the Trail Blazers respectively this season.
However, the Lakers also saw that Hodge and Fudge were really difficult to make a difference, and they did not stand out in the development league, so they made roster adjustments. Vindler had a hot performance of 22 points and 33 rebounds in a single game, and Mays played well with the Trail Blazers last season and had a remarkable performance against the Lakers in two games this season.
The Lakers want to take a closer look at those two players. The Lakers are now 10th in the West with an 18-19 record, beating the Clippers in their last game, and the team is four wins away from the Mavericks in sixth place in the West, and it will be difficult to reach the playoff zone from the play-in zone. Fortunately, Russell has returned from the last game, and the pressure on the team has decreased a lot.