The Lakers waived Yi Jianlian on Monday, one day after the Chinese center had asked for his release.
The Lakers had signed Yi to a non-guaranteed contract at the veteran’s minimum, including incentives that could have made the deal worth as much as $8 million.
After hoping Yi could provide some outside shooting at the backup center spot, Yi averaged only 3.6 points on a 36.8 percent clip in 12.2 minutes through five exhibition games. Yi also shot only 16.7 percent from 3-point range.
“Yi was productive in practices and games with us, and was a consummate professional both on and off the court,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement.