And the Lakers staff has weirdly messed it up again in front of their fans! With almost a silent offseason, Rob Pelinka’s Purple and Gold squad is rounding up the players for the main roster and G-League currently. And guess what? They signed a player through an Exhibit 10 contract and then waived him! It is the guard Vincent Valerio-Bodon, whose acquisition the Lakers made official recently. They had also signed Jordan Goodwin through the same Exhibit 10 deal. But they did not let go of Goodwin the same way.

As per the league sources of HoopsHype, the 23-year-old was all locked in for an Exhibit 10 deal. And they did! The Lakers released a formal announcement regarding the signing and then waived him thereafter. However, Dave McMenamin reveals, “LAL will retain Valerio-Bodon’s G League rights to pave the path for the guard-forward to play for South Bay this season.”

It’s worth noting that the 6’9″ forward spent the 2023-24 season with the South Bay, averaging 5.1 points and 2.8 rebounds alongside shooting beyond 39% from deep. Yet he lost his job. Wondering why? Well, first, let us know about a little background of the Hungarian young gun.

Vincent Valerio-Bodon: The Guard from Hungary

We have no clue about the personal details of Vincent Valerio-Bodon since he’s just played in the G-League. However, as per the official information, the guard was born on May 2, 2001, in Sopron, Hungary. When it comes to the academic background before the NBA, Vincent attended Texas Christian University after school. He played 29 games for Sopron KC of the Hungarian NBIA during the 2022-23 season, averaging 8.2 points, alongside just over 4 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Vincent appeared in one game for the Boston Celtics in the Las Vegas Summer League last summer. He had racked up 13 points with 4-of- 8 shooting with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block in 25 minutes.

The Lakers had recruited Vincent Valerio-Bodon, Scotty Pippen Jr., Bryce Hamilton, and Damion Baugh to assess if they fit in the main roster in October 2023. Unfortunately, barring Bryce, the other three were waived only a month later, as they did not fit the squad. Later on, he went to play for the South Bay Lakers. He delivered a decent performance there, as per the aforementioned data. Yet Pelinka let go of him. So the question lingers: why did the Lakers pave the way for the guard after signing him?

Why did the Los Angeles Lakers waive Vincent after signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the young guard?

The answer to waiving Vincent Valerio-Bodon lies in the deal itself. 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 G-League team is the South Bay Lakers. Vincent will now receive a greater amount at the South Bay because he hasn’t directly signed with them. It is a win-win move for both sides as the Lakers will get to test a role player, while for Vincent, it’s the money deal.

Notably, Vincent was also on the Lakers’ Summer League squad this year, averaging 4.5 points, 4 rebounds, and just over an assist. So, after being on contract for a year and then getting waived off again, it seems the rollercoaster journey had ended for Vincent Valerio-Bodon.

Feel that you can do with another update from the sport of basketball? Then do check out this recent interview with the up-and-coming Georgia Lady Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.