Armel Traore did not have his chance during the Draft, but he will join the NBA. The interior from Blois (2m05, 21 years old) was picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday via a ” two-way contract » ad Shams Charania. He joins a legendary franchise in the league and will be able to try to find his place in the purple and gold squad, in which he will rub shoulders with Anthony Davis, and the James family, after Bronny's Draft which should seal the fate of free agency by LeBron James. The 2024 Draft will therefore have offered France five selected players and at least one other with a foot in the league!
For Traoré, it is the reward for a gamble this season: having left the Metropolitans of Boulogne-Levallois, where he teamed up with Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly in 2022-2023, to have more responsibilities with Blois in Betclic Elite. A profitable choice, since with the ADA, Traoré finished fourth best rebounder in the French championship (7.3 shots to go with his 10.8 points at 54.1%). Position 4 with ADA, the 21-year-old can also play on the wing, even if his outside shot is not his primary strength. Very athletic, he is on the other hand very interesting in transition play, and he is a solid defender.
A year before his little brother arrived in the NBA?
Tested by the Thunder, the Blazers and the Hawks, Armel Traoré will also be able to come to the news for little brother Nolan, expected in the heights of the next 2025 draft and who has chosen to stay in Saint-Quentin next season where he will discover the European Cup. Nothing is assured however for the ex-Blésois, who will have to fight to get a few minutes and be productive on short sequences. The last French players to go on a “two-way contract” by the Lakers did not leave an unforgettable memory there: Sekou Doumbouya and Joël Ayayi in 2021. Two players that Armel Traoré was able to meet this season on the Betclic Elite courts.
The Lakers also recovered Pittsburgh triggerman Blake Hinson on a two-way contract. The 24-year-old winger will try to make his outside shot do the talking, he who shot 43% from 3-point range last season on a high volume (more than eight attempts per game). Over the last thirty seasons in the ACC conference, only one player had shot at such percentages while taking so many shots behind the arc, new Lakers coach JJ Redick.
Blake Hinson (@Pitt_MBB) is hitting 43% from 3. He's taking a high volume too, 8.5 3s per game.
Complete, entire, and exhaustive list of ACC players to take that many, and make that high a percentage, since 1993:
• Blake Hinson
• JJ Redick pic.twitter.com/E5seHAX2Wl— Mike Monaco (@MikeMonaco_) February 19, 2024
Two-way contract : Designed to create a new bridge between the NBA and the G-League, this type of contract allows each team to secure the services of two or three additional players, to have them play mainly in their affiliated development league franchise but also up to 50 matches in the NBA.
