The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a Two-Way contract with Alex Fudge. To create the Two-Way slot, the Lakers have waived Cole Swider.

Fudge went undrafted out of Florida in 2023.

In six Summer League games, Fudge averaged 3.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.4 minutes over six games.

Austin Reaves didn't want to leave the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, but he did consider other options. Two teams with cap space this summer were in contention, according to Reaves.

"I really wanted to be in L.A. the whole time, there was a couple situations that were close but like I said, I really wanted to be in L.A. It feels like home to me so that’s really where I wanted to be," Reaves said on the All The Smoke podcast.

Reaves said that the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs were teams he considered joining before re-signing with Lakers.

"Houston, before Fred VanVleet signed there, and San Antonio," Reaves answered when asked who else he might have signed with before agreeing to a new deal with Los Angeles.

The Chicago Bulls emerged as a potential suitor for Christian Wood, sources tell Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

The Bulls were recently granted a $10.2 million Disabled Player Exception for Lonzo Ball, which could allow them to use part of it to sign Wood.

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers also have interest in Wood. The Dallas Mavericks don't have interest in re-signing Wood after one season with the team.

On the most recent episode of The Lowe Post, ESPN's Dave McMenamin said the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis are likely to sign an extension. McMenamin said that extending Davis' deal is far more likely than the Lakers trading Davis.

“Anthony Davis in Rob's (Pelinka) estimation is someone that has represented the Lakers really well, citing how he played through his foot injury last year as a major reason why they won a championship in 2020 and he wants to continue to have Anthony Davis as a Laker,” said McMenamin.

"Where things stand right now, I expect some sort of an agreement to be reached," McMenamin added. "A lot of it is one, recognizing that Anthony Davis as a trade chip, there’s no way to replicate the value of what he brings to the court combined with LeBron James when he’s healthy, you just won’t. It’s absolutely impossible."

McMenamin closed the Davis conversation by saying, "I’m fairly confident that Anthony Davis will come into training camp with an extended deal."

LeBron James will change his jersey number from No. 6 to No. 23 for next season. James wore No. 6 last season with the Lakers for one more season to honor Bill Russell. The NBA has retired the No. 6 jersey league-wide in honor of Russell's achievements on and off the court.

James initially wore No. 23 with the Lakers, before making the change to No. 6 ahead of the 2021-22 season. James previously wore No. 23 during both of his stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers. While with the Miami Heat, James wore No. 6, since the Heat retired No. 23 in honor of Michael Jordan.

During an acceptance speech at the ESPY's on Wednesday, LeBron James confirmed he will return for his 21st NBA season.

"I don't care how many more points I score or what I can or cannot do on the floor," James said. "The real question for me is: Can I play without cheating this game? The day I can't give everything on the floor is the day I'll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today."

James explained his mindset after the Los Angeles Lakers' Game 4 elimination from the playoffs when he said he had to think about "if I want to continue to play."

"When the season ended, I said I wasn't sure if I was going to keep playing," James said. "And I know a lot of experts told you guys what I said, but I'm here now speaking for myself. In that moment, I'm asking myself if I can still play without cheating the game -- can I give everything to the game still? The truth is, I've been asking myself this question at the end of the season for a couple years now. I just never openly talked about it."

D'Angelo Russell waived his implied no-trade clause in re-signing with the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year, $36 million deal.

Russell is believed to be the first player to agree to waive an implied no-trade clause as it is a new addition to the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

Players who are traded on a one-plus-one contract lose Bird rights if traded and waiving the implied no-trade clause can be waive upon signing and not strictly at the time of the trade.

Russell has been considered a potential trade candidate for the Lakers depending on how his first full season back with the Lakers progresses. 

The Los Angeles Lakers are considering Christian Wood and Bismack Biyombo for their 14th roster spot, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The Lakers plan on keeping their 15th roster spot empty heading into training camp.

Rob Pelinka told reporters on Sunday that the Lakers are looking to add another center after also signing Jaxson Hayes. The Lakers only have two traditional options at center in Anthony Davis and Hayes.

“We are actively in the market to add another big,” Pelinka said.

The Lakers previously had interest in Dario Saric, who signed last week with the Golden State Warriors.

Austin Reaves signed a four-year, $54 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, which was the maximum they could offer, but a rival team could have signed him to a larger contract worth up to $100 million. The San Antonio Spurs, who entered free agency with ample cap space to sign Reaves, reportedly considered pursuing him. The Lakers could have matched under that scenario, but it would have been punitive in Years 3 and 4.

"I think the Reaves' contract has the chance to be one of the best contracts in the league from a team perspective," said Zach Lowe on his podcast. "The Lakers got very, very lucky that nobody made them pay through the nose.

"And I know San Antonio was going back and forth on it. And just for whatever reason didn't do it. And that's a steal."

The Los Angeles Lakers signed center Colin Castleton and guard D'Moi Hodge to two-way contracts.

Castleton (6’11”, 231) appeared in 26 games (all starts) in his final campaign at the University of Florida last season, averaging 16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.0 blocks in 31.2 minutes per contest, earning him All-SEC First Team honors. 

Hodge (6’4”, 185) most recently played his final collegiate season at the University of Missouri (2022-23) where he averaged 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.6 steals in 29.1 minutes per game, while shooting an SEC-best 40.0 percent from 3-point range.