The Los Angeles Lakers have a new young prospect on their roster who is available to play. Drew Timme, a 25-year-old power forward who stands 6-foot-9 and weighs 235 pounds, recently had his G League contract converted to a two-way contract by the team, and he made his NBA debut and scored his first NBA basket in Tuesday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Timme was a strong player at Gonzaga University, where he won back-to-back West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year awards and averaged 17.2 points on 61.8% field-goal shooting and 6.7 rebounds a game. He isn’t a 3-point shooting threat, but he could have a bit of potential on the offensive end.
He went undrafted in 2023 and has mostly been in the G League since, but he did appear in nine games with the Brooklyn Nets last season.
Lakers coach JJ Redick hinted that he could use Timme as an offensive hub while praising the forward’s rebounding.
Via Lakers Nation:
“I think he’s tremendously skilled offensively. Haven’t really had a big here as like a hub, as like a passing guy that you can kind of play out of the high post with. AD (Anthony Davis), to an extent, but a lot of the stuff we ran for him in those spots was to get him a shot and not to be a playmaker. But I think the thing that’s kind of underrated with [Timme] is his defensive rebounding is like really good, particularly for his size. He’s produced at every level and looking forward to coaching him.”
It may not be easy for Timme to get any real playing time, considering the depth L.A. has up front. LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt are all capable of holding down the power forward position. But an injury or load management decision here and there just may open up tiny slivers of playing time for Timme.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick on how new Lakers forward Drew Timme can contribute
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
