Guard/forward David Nwaba has been given a second chance by the Los Angeles Lakers to prove himself in the NBA. The team from Los Angeles signed Nwaba from the NBA D-League to a second 10-day contract over this past weekend, revealed Serena Winters on her Twitter account. Newly acquired Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has made his first move since joining the franchise.
On February 28th, Lakers President of Basketball Operations Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson announced that the team has agreed to a 10-day contract with Nwaba. Nwaba's contract expired on Friday, and the Lakers had to decide whether to keep the 24-year-old or to send him back to the NBA D-League.
The guard/forward wasn't guaranteed that he would be on the team once his first contract expired, but there were some indications that the Lakers would give him another shot. ''He’s done, in my opinion, everything he can to deserve another 10-day,'' Lakers head coach Luke Walton said of Nwaba last week, according to Mark Medina of the Orange County Register.
How has Nwaba played since joining the Lakers?
David Nwaba's first 10-day contract included five NBA games. His best game since joining the Los Angeles Lakers came against the Boston Celtics on March 3rd. The 24-year-old scored seven points on 2 of 2 shooting from the field while knocking down 3 of 4 of his free-throw attempts, and grabbing two rebounds and a block in 20 minutes of action.
In his first game of the second contract, Nwaba had a solid performance. Nwaba posted six points on a 1-of-3 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. He as well had a rebound and a block in 16 minutes of action against the 76ers. One game is in the books and Nwaba has four more games to show what he can do.
What will happen once the second 10-day contract comes to an end?
Here we come to an interesting point. The Los Angeles Lakers won't be eligible to sign David Nwaba to his third consecutive 10-day contract once the second one expires. The LakeShow can either sign Nwaba for the rest of the season or send him back to the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
The guard/forward has averaged 3.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in six games played for the Lakers so far. It remains to be seen what will happen in a couple of days when the contract comes to an end.