LA Lakers To Allow Former 1st-Rounder To Hit Unrestricted Free Agency

The Los Angeles Lakers have decided to let their 2023 first-round draft pick enter unrestricted free agency after just 21 games played in the NBA. They have declined the third-year team option on guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.

The Los Angeles Lakers are declining guard Jalen Hood-Schifino’s third-year team option worth $4 million for 2025-26, sources tell ESPN. This makes the 21-year-old, 6-foot-5 guard an unrestricted free agent in offseason and creates roster flexibility for Lakers. pic.twitter.com/lwKGwVTg6w
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 31, 2024

The option was for $4 million for next season, but instead, the No. 17 overall pick in last year's draft will become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Hood-Schifino got into just 21 games in his rookie season, and averaged just 1.6 points in a mere five minutes of floor time per appearance.

The Lakers passed up on a number of notable players in that draft class to select Hood-Schifino, including Jaime Jaquez Jr., Brandin Podziemski and Cam Whitmore, who were all picked just after him in the first round from picks 18 through 20.

It should be noted that Hood-Schifino performed quite well in the G League last season for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 22 points per contest in 15 games, including a 38-point outburst. He was just assigned back to the G League this past week, after not seeing a single minute of play for LA through the first three games of the season.