Thursday, the Lakers declined Hood-Schifino’s $4.1M third-year option for 2025-26. That makes the 21-year-old guard an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Hood-Schifino hasn’t played a second for the Lakers this season, after averaging 1.6 points in 21 games during his injury-plagued rookie year. He did play well in the G League, averaging 22 points in 15 games with the South Bay Lakers, where he made 43.2% of his three-point attempts.
But it’s still a surprise that the Lakers are giving up on a first-round pick so quickly. Even after Hood-Schifino struggled with injuries to his knee and back last season, the Lakers decided that they’d prefer the flexibility of an open roster spot and financial breathing room over having him on the team.
It looks like an especially bad draft pick considered who was selected around Hood-Schifino. The picks directly after the Indiana guard were Jaime Jacquez, Jr. at No. 18 and Brandin Podziemski at No. 19, both who made the All-Rookie first team last season.
Another factor is the presence of Bronny James on the Lakers roster. Not only is the younger James seemingly a bigger priority for garbage time minutes, he has a guaranteed four-year contract. Since the Lakers are already over the salary cap for next season, with backup guards Max Christie, Gabe Vincent and James under contract, the organization has decided they don’t need another project guard taking up a roster spot.
That could be an issue for the Lakers this season. They’re locked into roster spots for Bronny James, Cam Reddish and Christian Wood this year, plus the offensively-challenged Christie and Vincent. That’s fine when LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy and playing well, but the Lakers don’t have a lot of depth options.
For Hood-Schifino, it likely means he’s well out of head coach JJ Redick’s rotation this season. He’ll get the option of finding a more promising situation next summer, when he’ll have only just turned 22 years old.
The Lakers clearly blew their draft pick, but they’ve decided to move on from their mistake as soon as possible. The encouraging part? Dumping a 21-year-old prospect is a strong indication LeBron James plans to return for his 22nd season.
Just like when they drafted his son, maximizing LeBron remains the Lakers top priority.
