In March 2025, UC San Diego reached a milestone its men’s basketball program had never experienced: an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. At the heart of that breakthrough was a forward who had taken the longer road to Division I basketball. After spending three seasons at Hawaii-Hilo, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones transferred to UC San Diego and became one of the Big West’s standout players. He finished the season with 670 points, a program Division I single-season record, and led the nation with 297 free-throw attempts. The Tritons won 30 games, captured the Big West regular-season and tournament titles, and earned their place on college basketball’s biggest stage.

That breakthrough did not immediately translate into an NBA career. Tait-Jones went undrafted in 2025 and played just one minute for the Toronto Raptors during Summer League. Instead of giving up on the dream, the New Zealand forward took his game to Latvia, where he helped Valmiera Glass VIA win three domestic titles in 2026. His season ended with 27 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a 100-95 championship victory over BC Tartu, earning him Finals MVP honors. A year after his college breakthrough, he had another title to his name and a fresh chance to reach the NBA.

The Lakers’ latest preseason transactions offer a reminder of just how uncertain that path can be. On October 14, Los Angeles signed a 25-year-old guard to an Exhibit 10 contract, then waived him within hours as the team continued reshuffling its training-camp roster. The move came amid a string of signings and releases designed to sort out the franchise’s developmental options before the regular season. For the player involved, however, the NBA opportunity was over almost as quickly as it had arrived.

That guard was Jahmir Young. The Lakers signed him after waiving forward Cole Swider, then moved on from Young and signed Tait-Jones. “The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Jahmir Young,” Lakers reporter Trevor Lane tweeted. “In a corresponding move, the team has waived forward Cole Swider.”

Why the Lakers moved on from Jahmir Young so quickly

Young is not a player without professional experience. The Maryland product went undrafted in 2024, but he has already appeared in NBA games for both the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. His most impressive production, however, has come in the G League, where he has shown that he can handle a much larger offensive role.

With the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Young averaged 25.9 points and 8.5 assists per game and earned All-NBA G League Second Team recognition. Those numbers point to a guard capable of creating shots for himself and setting up teammates, rather than simply waiting for opportunities around more established scorers.

That background makes the speed of the Lakers’ decision notable. Young had been given a chance to join the training-camp group, but the opportunity did not last long enough for him to build a case through a meaningful run of preseason minutes. The transaction instead became part of the Lakers’ broader process of cycling through players on Exhibit 10 contracts.

There is an important distinction here: a rapid waiver does not necessarily mean the Lakers concluded that Young could not play at the NBA level. Exhibit 10 deals can serve a developmental purpose, allowing a team to evaluate a player while retaining a pathway for him to join its G League affiliate. In Young’s case, the timing of the move fits into that roster-management process, rather than proving that the Lakers had made a definitive judgment about his long-term ceiling.

Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones brings a championship résumé

Tait-Jones was the player who followed Young into the Lakers’ transaction picture, and his route to Los Angeles has been anything but straightforward. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound New Zealand forward went undrafted in 2025 after a standout college career at UC San Diego. He then received only one minute of playing time with the Toronto Raptors during the 2025 NBA Summer League before heading to Europe to continue his development.

That detour produced a major result. Tait-Jones signed with Latvian club Valmiera Glass VIA in August 2025 and averaged 15.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists across 30 Latvian-Estonian Basketball League games in the 2025-26 season. He shot 55.3% from the field and helped Valmiera win the Latvian-Estonian League championship, the Latvian Basketball League playoff title and the Latvian Cup.

His season ended with the kind of performance that makes his return to the NBA conversation worth watching. On April 8, 2026, Tait-Jones recorded 27 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a 100-95 win over BC Tartu. The performance helped secure the Latvian-Estonian League title and earned him Finals MVP honors.

His college résumé was equally impressive at the level where he made his name. After beginning his career at Division II Hawaii-Hilo, Tait-Jones transferred to UC San Diego and averaged 19.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists across 35 games in 2024-25. He scored 670 points, setting a UC San Diego Division I single-season record, and helped the Tritons finish 30-5 and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

One statistic captures the way he put pressure on opposing defenses: Tait-Jones attempted 297 free throws during that final college season, the most in Division I men’s basketball that year. He earned Big West Player of the Year honors and the conference tournament’s Most Valuable Player award as UC San Diego won both the regular-season title and the tournament.

What Tait-Jones still needs to prove

The championship résumé does not make Tait-Jones a guaranteed NBA player. His strengths include using his frame, balance and footwork to create opportunities around the basket, absorbing contact and making plays for teammates. His college production also showed that he could contribute as a passer instead of relying entirely on scoring.

In a November 2025 interview with GermanHoops, Tait-Jones described the type of player he hopes to be. “I’d say maybe someone like Gordon Hayward when he was in his prime. A versatile forward who can create, rebound, and defend multiple positions. I like to impact the game in different ways, not just scoring.”

He also pointed to an aspect of his game that can be overlooked when people focus on his scoring numbers. “Yeah, I think my passing. I don’t always get recognized for it, but I really enjoy creating for my teammates. I see myself as more than just a scorer and I want to make the game easier for the guys around me.”

The main concern is his outside shot. Tait-Jones converted 32.4% of his three-pointers across his Division I college career. In the Latvian-Estonian League, he shot 25% from three on limited volume. That is an area he would need to improve to make himself more useful in an NBA rotation, where defenders can punish a forward who does not consistently threaten from the perimeter.

Draft analyst Ersin Demir highlighted the challenge of translating Tait-Jones’ physical style to the NBA, noting that he creates advantages through his reads rather than relying solely on his frame. As Demir explained, “He’s a good athlete but embraces advantage creation with his reads rather than relying on his physique. That’s a much more feasible solution, as the physical advantage largely vanishes when he’s facing NBA athletes.”

The Lakers now have an opportunity to evaluate those strengths and weaknesses directly. But Tait-Jones’ Exhibit 10 contract is a chance to compete, not a promise of a place on the opening-night roster.

The Lakers have a bigger roster decision to make

Young’s quick exit and Tait-Jones’ arrival are separate from the Lakers’ more pressing standard-roster problem. Los Angeles entered the final stretch of preseason with 16 guaranteed standard NBA contracts, one more than the 15-player regular-season limit. The front office still has to resolve that situation before opening night.

Exhibit 10 contracts do not automatically occupy one of those 15 standard roster spots. That means signing Tait-Jones does not, by itself, solve the roster crunch or confirm that another guaranteed player is about to be waived. The Lakers can use such deals to evaluate talent and maintain a route to their G League affiliate while they work through the separate standard-roster decision.

Dalton Knecht has emerged in reporting as a possible player caught in that squeeze. California Post’s Khobi Price wrote: “Not a good sign for Knecht, whom multiple rival executives expect to be the odd man out as the Lakers look to trim their roster from 16 players on standard NBA deals to the league maximum of 15.” That is an account of what rival executives expect, not confirmation that the Lakers have decided to move Knecht.

A trade is another possible solution. Lakers insider Jovan Buha has discussed a consolidation deal that could allow the franchise to reduce its roster count while addressing another need. “My understanding is a consolidation trade. Obviously, it would be two-for-one, three-for-one, or three-for-two is a little more complicated,” Buha said.

He added: “So I think the most straightforward one would be two-for-one…And depending on the configuration of the trade, it could be a version of two of the back-end guys, let’s say Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy, for a backup center.” Those comments describe a potential route, not a completed transaction.

For Young, the immediate Lakers chapter ended almost as soon as it began. For Tait-Jones, the next opportunity has arrived after a season in which he turned limited NBA exposure into a championship campaign overseas. Neither player’s short-term status settles the larger questions facing Los Angeles, but their transactions show how aggressively the team is working through its preseason options.

The Lakers still need to decide how to handle their guaranteed roster spots. In the meantime, Young’s brief stay and Tait-Jones’ arrival offer a reminder that an Exhibit 10 contract can be a doorway into a team’s developmental system, even when it does not lead directly to an NBA roster place.