The Los Angeles Lakers are taking a swing on the front line, adding forward Drew Timme to the roster on a two-way contract.
Brett Siegel of Clutch Points reported the news via social media on Friday, November 21.
The Lakers are in the process of finalizing a two-way contract with Drew Timme, league sources told @ClutchPoints,” Siegel wrote. “LA won’t be cutting Nick Smith Jr., so they will need to waive either Christian Koloko or Chris Manon to sign Timme.”
Drew Timme Was Elite College Basketball Player at Gonzaga
GettyFormer Gonzaga forward Drew Timme.
The Lakers made the call following a monster run from Timme for the team’s G League affiliate. Timme has put up 28.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for the South Bay Lakers over the past week, which earned him a call up to the main roster.
Timme is six-feet, 10-inches tall and weighs 235 pounds. He is 25 years old and most recently played for the Brooklyn Nets, playing in nine games for that franchise over the course of the 2024-25 season. He averaged 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28 minutes of court time over that stretch.
A four-year player for Gonzaga, Timme earned All-American honors three times at the collegiate level between his sophomore and senior seasons (2020-23). He averaged 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.9 blocks per game over the course of his four-year career there.
Timme played in one Final Four, losing in the championship game to Baylor in the final contest of the 2020-21 NCAA season. He remains Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer and is a two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year award winner.
How Drew Timme Will Fit With Lakers Remains an Unknown
GettyLos Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
It has taken Timme some time to bust into the NBA ranks because as good as he was in college, his game doesn’t necessarily translate as well to the professional style of basketball played today.
Timme is not a rim protector in any sense of the word, despite pushing nearly seven feet. He has averaged just 0.3 blocks per game in four G League games this season. However, he is an active defender with 1.5 steals per contest, though his lack of perimeter quickness in comparison to his fellow NBA players limits his viable matchups on the defensive side of the floor.
In college, Timme’s defining skill was his ability to put the ball in the bucket, which he’s shown he can do both in the G League and at the NBA level after his nine-game run with Brooklyn last season. But he doesn’t stretch the floor as a three-point shooter.
Timme isn’t afraid to shoot from behind the arc, attempting nearly four three-pointers during his run with the Nets in 2024-25 and hoisting 6.3 tries from deep across four games in the G League this season. But his percentages were 25.7 percent and 24 percent, respectively, which means defenses will actively encourage Timme to shoot open three-point attempts for the Lakers whenever he might get them.
Timme does have a good deal of creativity and touch closer in, posting a 59 percent make rate on two-point attempts for the South Bay Lakers this year.
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