Ahead of the NBA season, Los Angeles Lakers made some last-minute changes to their roster, requesting to waive guards Scotty Pippen Jr. and Damion Baugh, as well as forward Vincent Valerio-Bodon.
The Lakers have waived Vincent Valerio-Bodon, Damion Baugh and Scotty Pippen Jr. pic.twitter.com/G7DalmEu9J
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 16, 2023
In an unforeseen move, the Lakers issued a press release on Monday stating that they are thinning out their roster for the ‘23 season, requesting to waive all three young players that have been signed under Exhibit 10 contracts on September 7, 2023.
With these three players off the board, the Lakers’ opening-night roster is now down to 14 players.
LA Lakers on X: The Lakers have requested waivers on Vincent Valerio-Bodon, Damion Baugh, and Scotty Pippen Jr.
The Lakers have requested waivers on Vincent Valerio-Bodon, Damion Baugh, and Scotty Pippen Jr.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 16, 2023
The three players had limited roles in the initial five games of the Lakers’ pre-season campaign, with Pippen Jr contributing a combined 4.5 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in each of his two games. The 22-year old guard played 15.7 minutes per game.
Guard Baugh and forward Valerio-Bodon, on the other hand, each participated in one game. In five minutes of play, Valerie-Bodon had a block and two rebounds, whereas Baugh pulled down just one rebound in his five and a half minutes of play.
What lies ahead for the trio
Following their attendance at training camp and limited involvement in the team’s pre-season play, the three players are likely to be assigned to the G League affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2023-24 season, unless they receive more advantageous offers elsewhere, as per Lakers Nation.
Fans reactions to Pippen Jr’s exit
The news spread quickly on X, where NBA central posted that the Lakers had waived the son of six-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist Scott Pippen. Fans were divided on whether the Lakers’ decision was a good one or a bad one.
The Lakers are waiving Scotty Pippen Jr pic.twitter.com/GM2zWE5P49
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 16, 2023
One fan said that the Lakers will one day regret letting go of Pippen Jr, saying “This move will come back to haunt the Lakers. He’s a bright young and upcoming player, and they just waived him instead of giving him a chance. I won’t be surprised if he goes to a different team and averages 20 PPG day one.”
While another X user said that the waive was not at all surprising after his last game, saying “You knew it was gone happen after that last performance lmao.”
Pippen Jr last played for the Lakers on Sunday in a match against the Milwaukee Bucks, where he contributed six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
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