The Los Angeles Lakers made the surprising decision on Thursday to decline the third-year team option on 2023 No. 17 overall pick Jalen Hood-Schifino. The Indiana guard had yet to make the strides the franchise hoped he would, and with no real path to minutes this season, it was unlikely he’d be a player worth paying next season and beyond.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick now has the task of keeping Hood-Schifino engaged and finding places to maximize his potential as he is now all of a sudden in a contract year. And given that there isn’t much room for him on the parent roster, much of that development and maximization has to come in the G League.