The Lakers are waiving Christian Koloko to open a roster spot for Drew Timme, who joins the team on a two-way deal after strong performances with South Bay in the G League.
The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving center Christian Koloko to open a roster spot for newly signed big man Drew Timme, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Timme joins the Lakers on a two-way contract after playing for their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. The 25-year-old finished last season with the Brooklyn Nets before moving to the G League, where he impressed with averages of 25.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Lakers were previously expected to waive either Koloko or Chris Manon to make room for Timme, and ultimately chose Koloko.
Koloko, now in his third NBA season, has made two brief garbage-time appearances this year without scoring.
The 6’11”, 225-pound center re-signed with Los Angeles in the summer after playing 37 games in the 2024–25 season, averaging 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 9.2 minutes.
Across his first two NBA seasons with the L.A. Lakers and the Toronto Raptors, Koloko appeared in 95 games and made 19 starts, posting career averages of 2.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12 minutes per game. Drafted 33rd overall by Toronto in the 2022 NBA Draft, Koloko moved from Cameroon to the United States in 2017 and played three seasons at the University of Arizona from 2019 to 2022.
