The Los Angeles Lakers roster for the 2025-26 campaign is slowly but surely coming together, and another domino fell on Monday with a member of last season's roster being shown the door.
Roster spots come at a premium when you're the type of franchise that prioritizes competing for championships, as the Lakers do. This means that players run the risk of being let go if they do not put their best foot forward, no matter the time of year.
Rob Pelinka and the front office reminded fans of that on Monday by releasing a big man after a less-than-acceptable performance during summer league play.
Lakers Just Gave Up on Trey Jemison III After Poor Summer League Showing
Trey Jemison III has officially been waived by the Lakers, ending his run in Los Angeles after just 22 games after joining the franchise in January 2025 on a two-way contract.
Lakers announce they are waiving Trey Jemison pic.twitter.com/NQ6kQQmfVL
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) July 21, 2025
Unfortunately for Jemison III, his poor showing throughout Los Angeles' play in both the California Classic and the Las Vegas NBA Summer League appears to have been enough for Pelinka and the rest of the brain trust in Los Angeles' front office to decide the center is no longer part of their plans.
To put it bluntly, Jemison III was horrible during summer league play. The big man averaged 1.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 turnovers in 13.7 minutes per game. To make matters worse for Jemison III, he only managed to shoot 40% from the field and an almost unbelievable 16.7% from the foul line.
Those numbers, somehow, were worse than the 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds Jemison III averaged in just over 10 minutes per game against actual NBA competition. With Deandre Ayton on the roster, Jaxson Hayes returning, and Christian Koloko on a two-way deal, there wasn't the need to have Jemison III on the roster, and his play in San Francisco and Las Vegas made that decision quite easy for the Lakers.
It remains to be seen where Jemison III ultimately lands now that he is set to enter the open market, but his time with the Purple and Gold has officially come to an end.