5 Former Lakers Still Unemployed to Start November

Matt Ryan

In the 2022 offseason, when the Lakers were desperately looking for more shooting, Matt Ryan was a life-saver. He surprisingly made the 15-man roster after the training camp and hit a massive, game-tying three against the New Orleans Pelicans in the second week of the season.

Despite playing a role for the Lakers early in the offseason and the team needing his skillset, Los Angeles waived him in the middle of the season. Since then, he has played for the Timberwolves and the Pelicans, finding success in small roles. Even though, he shot 45% from downtown last year for New Orleans, he was waived before the start of the 2024-25 season.

Ryan joined the Westchester Knicks after being selected first overall in the NBA G League Draft. He will start the season there but he might get a call up from a team in dire need of shooting. He may not do much else but he remains one of the best sharpshooters out there.

Reggie Bullock

Throughout the LeBron James era in Los Angeles, there has been a constant stream of three-and-D wings. The Lakers front office has taken a flyer on an endless number of forwards who can shoot the three and play passable defense. Reggie Bullock was one of those flyers.

In LeBron's first year in LA, things weren't going well, and the Lakers were out of the playoff picture. To save their season, the team traded for Reggie Bullock at the trade deadline. With the Lakers, the veteran shot 41.2% from the field and 34.3% from three. Considering that he doesn't do much else on the offensive end of the floor, that wasn't enough to justify retaining him.

After leaving the Lakers, Bullock found success with the Mavericks, starting and playing a big role for them in their 2022 Western Conference Finals run. He didn't get much of a chance in Houston last year in their crowded rotation but a team will likely take a chance on the 33-year-old at some point this season.