The Lakers waived Vincent Valerio-Bodon less than 24 hours after signing him to a contract. Here’s why.
Fans yearning for the latest on the Lakers might have caught on Wednesday night that the team signed Vincent Valerio-Bodon to an Exhibit-10 contract. He’s another body to add to the training camp roster and a player that spent time with South Bay last season.
Lakers make the signing of Vincent Valerio-Bodon official. pic.twitter.com/2MW7t5BBoK
— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) September 5, 2024
Those same fans likely also saw that they then waived Valerio-Bodon on Thursday, less than day later.
This move might seem confusing; why would you sign a player and, within 24 hours, waive them?
Well simply put, an Exhibit-10 deal is a contract that gives the player who signs it an additional bonus if they sign with the franchise’s G League affiliate, in this case, the South Bay Lakers.
The Lakers signing Valerio-Bodon to this deal and immediately waiving him allows him to play for the South Bay Lakers for more money than would be possible if he had just signed to the South Bay team outright.
The Los Angeles Lakers waived Vincent Valerio-Bodon on Thursday after signing him to an Exhibit 10 deal Wednesday. LAL will retain Valerio-Bodon’s G League rights to pave the path for the guard-forward to play for South Bay this season.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 5, 2024
This is a win-win scenario for both parties. The Lakers keep a player they have some interest in and Valerio-Bodon gets a bit more money for staying with the South Bay Lakers.
Valerio-Bodon is no stranger to the G-League. He spent last year with the South Bay Lakers and in his 25 games, he averaged six points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.
He also participated in Summer League action for the Lakers, averaging 4.5 points, four rebounds, and 1.3 assists in five appearances.
This isn’t the only Exhibit-10 deal the Lakers have made this summer. The team signed Kylor Kelley, Quincy Olivari and Jordan Goodwin to training camp contracts with the main roster. Those players, however, haven’t been waived just yet.
However, that is likely their fate, given that Los Angeles already has 15 guaranteed contracts. So, unless someone plays exceptionally, forcing the franchise to make space by trading or waiving a player, a spot on the main roster is unlikely for any Exhibit-10 guys singing with the Lakers and the G-League is the best-case scenario.
There you have it, then. This is why the Lakers were quick to sign and waive Valerio-Bodon with a day. So the next time someone claims vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka is not hard at work, explain to them the intricacies of an Exhibit-10 contract and you’ll totally own them.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
