Drew Timme’s hot start to the G League season hasn’t gone unnoticed by members of the Los Angeles Lakers front office.
The former Gonzaga standout will reportedly get another shot in the NBA after being waived by the Brooklyn Nets last month.
As of Friday afternoon, Timme was in the process of signing a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, who are expected to waive either Christian Koloko or Chris Manon in a corresponding transaction, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
The move pairs Timme with another ex-Gonzaga forward, Rui Hachimura, who was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft, right as Timme was moving to Spokane for his freshman year.
Timme, Gonzaga’s career scoring leader, earned G League Player of the Week honors after averaging 30 points, seven rebounds and 4.7 assists through the first three games of the season. His numbers only dipped slightly after Timme put up 23 points, five rebounds and four assists in an ensuing game against the Salt Lake City Stars.
It’s unclear if Timme will join the Los Angeles Lakers immediately or stick with G League South Bay for the time being. A two-way contract allows players to spend up to 50 games per season with the NBA team. The Lakers have already played 15 of 82 games, meaning Timme could theoretically be with the club for all but 17 of the remaining regular-season games.
Lakers star LeBron James recently completed a rehab assignment with the South Bay team, but didn’t appear in any games. As Timme moves up to join the NBA team, James’ son, Bronny, was sent down to the South Bay Lakers for a G League assignment. Bronny will team up with Timme’s former Gonzaga teammate, Anton Watson, who was picked one spot ahead of LeBron’s son in the 2024 NBA draft.
If Koloko is waived, Los Angeles’ roster will have just two true centers in Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes. Depending how second-year coach JJ Redick and the Lakers choose to deploy him, Timme could also be competing for playing time with Hachimura or veteran 6-foot-10 forward Maxi Kleber.
Los Angeles’ roster features one familiar face for Timme in Hachimura and another in guard Austin Reaves. During a 2021 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 game, Timme had 30 points and Reaves had 27 when top-seeded Gonzaga cruised past Oklahoma 87-71 to reach the Sweet 16.
After averaging 23.9 points and 10.3 rebounds in 29 games with the G League Long Island Nets in 2024-25, Timme was called up to the NBA team in Brooklyn late in the season and averaged 12.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg and 2.2 apg over nine games.
That foreshadowed a dominant stretch for Timme at NBA Summer League, where he averaged 25.3 ppg, eight rpg and 2.7 apg for Brooklyn, finishing second behind Utah’s Kyle Filipowski in scoring average.
Timme was fighting for a roster spot in Brooklyn before the 2025-26 season, but the Nets, who selected five players in the first round of this year’s draft, waived him on Oct. 13 before the regular season started.
