The Los Angeles Lakers waived Exhibit 10 players Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and Rafael Castro following their final preseason game before the 2026-27 season.
Tait-Jones, 25, went undrafted in 2025, but had a successful season overseas before trying his luck in the NBA once again. . He averaged 15.9 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game in 29 starts in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League during the 2026 season, also winning Finals MVP in that league.
The Lakers only had him for Friday’s preseason loss to the Denver Nuggets, but he didn’t feature during the contest.
Castro went undrafted in the 2025 draft, but featured more than Tait-Jones did for the Lakers. Castros’s first appearance with the team came against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, where he scored two points while recording three rebounds and an assist in 10 minutes on the floor.
The Providence graduate played six minutes against the Nuggets on Friday, logging two rebounds in six minutes.
Neither player figured to get a role with the Lakers this season, but the team’s trimming of the roster surely precedes a bigger move for Los Angeles.
What Will the Lakers Do to Their Roster Before Opening Night?
The Lakers are running out of time to manage their roster, as they only have until Monday to trim their 16-man roster down to 15 players.
They could make a few different decisions on their roster before the start of the year, but the choice seems obvious at this point. Dalton Knecht is the odd man out on the Lakers, as he was for the majority of last year, and the team is openly looking to trade the third year wing.
Los Angeles added heavily in the offseason, and Knecht stands to further lose his role behind players like Quentin Grimes, Cameron Carr and Matisse Thybulle.
“I think the biggest thing is the team changed,” head coach JJ Redick said, referring to why Knecht’s role shrunk. “The team changed. Needs changed, the fit changed. I think he’s gotten better as a player the last two years. I think, particularly last year, each guy got plenty of opportunities with the injuries we had. I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings and he’s in a tough spot right now.”
With time running out before Monday’s 2:00 p.m. deadline, the Lakers must find a way to get Knecht off their books before the start of the season. Their first game of the year comes against the Warriors at 7:00 p.m. PT.
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