Lakers plan to cut Ryan and Reddish to make room for Goodwin and others in the playoffs

March 23, the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to cut Alex Len and Cam Reddish in the near future. This move is aimed at freeing up playoff eligibility for two-way contract players such as Goodwin.

According to NBA playoff rules, players with two-way contracts need to convert to standard contracts to participate in the playoffs. Currently, the Lakers have three players with two-way contracts, namely Jamison, Goodwin and Koloko. Sources revealed that the Lakers management plans to convert Goodwin and Jamison's two-way contracts to standard contracts to ensure that they can play in the playoffs. Therefore, the team needs to free up at least two regular player spots, and Ryan and Reddish are the most likely targets for layoffs.

This season, Ryan played only 8 games for the Lakers, averaging only 2.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, with few opportunities to perform. Reddish's situation is not ideal either. He played 33 games this season, averaging 3.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game, and failed to find a stable position in the team's tactical system.

At the same time, the Lakers have some players with non-guaranteed contracts, such as Milton and Kleber. Milton is favored by the team, and Kleber's contract still has a guaranteed amount of $11 million for the 2025-26 season, so he will basically not be laid off.

This season, Goodwin and Jamison have shown good vitality in limited playing time, and the management hopes that they can provide more help to the team in the playoffs. It is expected that after cutting Ryan and Reddish, the Lakers will officially sign these two two-way contract players to further improve the playoff lineup.

Currently, the Lakers are in a critical stage of impacting the playoffs, and the team's lineup adjustments also mean that they hope to optimize the rotation depth and prepare for the upcoming playoffs.