The Lakers Found Their Next Two-Way Project. His Name Is AK Okereke.

JJ Redick has never been shy about running his two-way guys out there. And now he’s got another one to mold.

The Lakers agreed to a two-way contract with AK Okereke on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. This came after Los Angeles couldn’t find a trade partner for the 56th pick and shipped it to Dallas instead. So they left the second round without a draft pick but walked away with a forward who played four college seasons and shot 40 percent from three last year.

That’s the kind of number that gets you a two-way deal in this league.

From Cornell to Vanderbilt to the NBA

Okereke started his college career at Cornell, spent three years there, then hit the transfer portal and landed at Vanderbilt for his final season. He started 35 of 36 games for the Commodores, averaged 26 minutes a night and put up 9.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2 assists. The shooting splits are what stand out: 48.1 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep and 77.5 percent at the line.

That’s a pretty clean profile for an undrafted forward who can stretch the floor.

The Lakers have a track record here. Austin Reaves came through as a two-way guy and just signed a max deal. Alex Caruso started the same way. So did Jay Huff and Scotty Pippen Jr. Nick Smith Jr. and Drew Timme gave them real minutes this past season too. It’s not a fluke. The front office has gotten genuinely good at finding undrafted players who can actually play.

What comes next for Okereke

As a two-way player, Okereke is capped at 50 NBA games and can’t play in the playoffs unless his contract gets converted to a standard deal. Most of his rookie season will probably be spent in the G League with the Lakers’ affiliate in Coachella Valley. That’s the standard path. Redick has shown he’ll call guys up when he needs them though, so it’s not like Okereke is just buried down there.

The Lakers only had one first-round pick this year and didn’t end up with a second-rounder after the trade. So Okereke is essentially their rookie class. That’s a lot of pressure for an undrafted guy. Or it’s a blank slate, depending on how you look at it.

Either way, he’s got the shooting numbers and the Lakers have the development system. We’ll see if that combo works again.