The Lakers have used a 10-day contract to ink a deal with six-year veteran forward Derrick Williams.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pounder has played this season in China, where he has averaged 20.0 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 50.5 percent from the field for the Tianjin Ronggang Gold Lions.
Outside of the offense-friendly Chinese Basketball Association, Williams recently played in the NBA for both Miami and Cleveland last season.
The La Mirada native averaged 6.1 points for the Heat and Cavaliers, flashing a nice mid-range jumper (48.9 percent, mostly for Miami), yet finding trouble finishing layups (47.2 percent).
More importantly, Williams displayed the ability to guard multiple positions on defense — something that has been a major edict by the Lakers’ front office this season.
The explosive athlete was able to defend positions two through four, making for a potentially nice fit with the Lakers, who often like to switch defensively.
The Lakers are thin at the wing with injuries sidelining Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart.
They are hoping that Williams, still just 26 years old, can help alleviate their position of need, even if he has played more power forward than small forward in recent years.
The Lakers will be Williams’ sixth NBA team since being drafted second overall in 2011. Prior to that, he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year at Arizona.