Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on Mac McClung's Future with Los Angeles

Mac McClung is going to have to wait at least a bit longer before making his NBA debut. However, the 22-year-old will be in a position this season that has him trending in the right direction.

After signing with the Los Angeles Lakers as an undrafted free agent earlier this year, McClung was waived by the team this week, and according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha, the point guard will be joining the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League.

While the 2021-22 NBA season is set to begin next week, the NBA G League doesn't start until November, as the South Bay Lakers tip off the year with a matchup against the G League Ignite on Nov. 5. So McClung has some time to prepare before taking the court for that contest.

McClung spent his first two college seasons at Georgetown before he transferred to Texas Tech, where he played during the 2020-21 campaign. He averaged 15.5 points over 29 games for the Red Raiders.

The Lakers gave McClung his first opportunity when they invited him to play for them during the NBA Summer League. He averaged 4.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists over five games in Las Vegas.

Although McClung's stats weren't the most impressive in Summer League, he did enough to land an Exhibit 10 deal with Los Angeles. But even though the Lakers are dealing with injuries to numerous reserve players (such as Trevor Ariza and Talen Horton-Tucker), McClung couldn't land a bench spot to open 2021-22.

There will be time for McClung to work his way toward an NBA opportunity, though. And if he impresses in the NBA G League, that could even happen sooner rather than later.

"The Summer League is different," McClung said in late August, per Steve Wilmoth of TriCitiesSports.com. "You don't always play the same amount of minutes, but it was a lot of fun. I know the Summer League and actual NBA are a lot different."

At some point, McClung could learn what NBA regular-season action is like. It just won't be Tuesday, when Los Angeles hosts the Golden State Warriors to open the year.

If McClung is going to make it to the NBA and have success, there are some areas of his game he may need to improve. He shot only 19.4 percent in the Summer League (going 6-for-31), so he'll need to be much more efficient moving forward.

Also, McClung went 1-for-7 on three-pointers during his time in Las Vegas. He's capable of better from behind the arc, which he showed by shooting 34.3 percent on three-pointers last season for Texas Tech.

With the South Bay Lakers, McClung will have opportunities to improve his skills and will stay on Los Angeles' radar for future roster consideration.