With injuries piling up for them in the preseason, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to get some insurance ahead of the 2021-22 NBA campaign. The team announced that they’ve signed forward Sekou Doumbouya, who will join the franchise on a two-way contract.
Doumbouya, the Detroit Pistons’ first-round pick in 2019, was traded two times during the offseason before becoming a free agent in early October. The 20-year-old player was first traded by Detroit to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the DeAndre Jordan trade and then moved again to the Houston Rockets as a salary dump move.
Doumbouya isn’t expected to play a prominent role for the Lakers this season, barring some major improvement in his game, and will most likely spend significant time developing in G League. However, he does provide a solid option on the position of need for the team in the wake of Trevor Ariza and Talen Horton-Tucker’s injuries.
The Pistons had big hopes for Sekou Doumbouya when they spent the No. 15 pick to draft him two seasons ago. However, the France international mostly struggled to make an impact in the NBA and is yet to make something out of his big potential. Doumbouya played 94 games in 2019-20 and 2020-21 combined and has averages of 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
