Lakers News: Mo Bamba Waived; Had $10.3M Non-Guaranteed Contract for 2023-24

The Los Angeles Lakes have declined to guarantee Mo Bamba's $10.3 million salary for the 2023-24 season and waived him, the team announced Thursday.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports initially reported the news.

The move comes as little surprise after The Athletic's John Hollinger reported June 16 that the 25-year-old was expected to be waived due to his high salary.

"Bamba has a non-guaranteed deal with the Lakers worth $10.3 million; he's not worth that money for any team, but especially not one that already has Anthony Davis," he wrote. "Unless his contract can be used in a trade, the expectation is that he'll be waived by his June 29 guarantee date."

NBA insider Marc Stein, however, reported the Lakers would be interested in re-signing Bamba:

The Lakers acquired Bamba in a four-team trade in February, and he went on to appear in nine games for the franchise during the 2022-23 campaign.

The Texas product had a minimal role with the Purple and Gold, averaging 3.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game while shooting 40.7 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from deep.

With Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt on board in 2023-24, the Lakers had the flexibility to move on from Bamba this offseason.

The Orlando Magic selected him sixth overall in the 2018 draft, but he has never quite lived up to that status.

In four-and-a-half seasons in Florida, Bamba averaged 7.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from deep. He played mostly off the bench, averaging 18.3 minutes per game.

His best season came in 2021-22 when he averaged 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.7 blocks in 71 games while shooting 48.0 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent from deep. He started 69 of 71 games, averaging 25.7 minutes per night.

Bamba should draw a decent amount of interest this summer for contending teams as a solid role player off the bench.