After an absolute whirlwind of a time, Alex Len landed in Los Angeles and suited up for his debut.
The Ukrainian national was initially going to sign with the Pacers once he cleared waivers when the Wizards released him after his trade from the Kings – get all that?
But that fell through and the Lakers signed him, waiving the injured Christian Wood to create a roster spot.
Len’s debut included four points on 2-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds, two assists and one block in 22 minutes.
But the 7-footer was still spinning from his roundabout journey.
“It was a crazy 24 hours just thinking you’re going one place and then coming over here and getting signed,” Len said. “[I] Came over here and played a game, just tried to stay in the moment and keep things simple.”
He added after the Lakers lost 131-119 to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, “It’s been a couple crazy days. I was on my way to Indiana and then Rob [Pelinka] called me and kind of changed my mind and came here. Crazy few days, huh?
“I understand being with the Lakers is a great opportunity. I couldn’t pass up on it, just playing for a championship. When I heard [it was a possibility], I said I’m coming here.”
Despite his average numbers, JJ Redick didn’t have any complaints about Len.
“I thought he was fine,” Redick said. “I mean there’s been a lot of that this year when we just like had to put guys in tough spots. We’ve had to put our two-way guys in tough spots, we had to put Alex in a tough spot. He was fine.”
Before the loss to Utah, LA Lakers were on a six-game win streak, including a win against the the Jazz in Luka Doncic’s debut.
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