The 2024-25 NBA offseason is officially in its slowest part.

Training camp is still more than three weeks away, and top free agents signed contracts with their new teams months ago. Not much news breaks these days, but on Wednesday night, Dallas Mavericks player Kyrie Irving gave his fans some news when he joined a Twitch live to discuss life and basketball.

Irving accepted responsibility for his lack of performance and expressed his desire to return to the NBA Finals. Although Irving has dominated Mavs news in recent days, a well-known player from the previous campaign is switching teams.

Alex Fudge, formerly of the Mavericks, joins the Lakers

Following his release by Dallas as part of the Kessler Edwards trade, former Maverick forward Alex Fudge has agreed to join the Lakers. Fudge is back with the Lakers after signing a two-way contract with Dallas for the upcoming campaign. Less than a month remained before training camp, and over the next few weeks, other agreements from around the league might start to come in. This one happened. Having signed far later than most other NBA players, he now had a reputation to uphold in Los Angeles.

Prior to joining the Mavs last season, Fudge was a member of the Lakers. The Lakers have a stronger roster than most people realize, so he will have to compete for a position throughout training camp.

Fudge averaged 5.5 points per game and shot 55.6 percent from the field in two games for Dallas. Fudge spent the majority of his career in the G League and never really had a chance with the Mavs. Although he is an excellent defender, his offensive potential is still unrealized.

This year’s Summer League gave Fudge the opportunity to show the Mavs who he was, but he faltered. He shot 12.5 percent from three-point range and averaged 4.6 points a game, so it might have been better for both teams to let him go. To succeed, Dallas’ wings need to be able to make easy baskets, and Fudge hasn’t quite honed that aspect of his game yet.

Although Fudge’s time in Dallas was brief, he will always be associated with the group that advanced to the NBA Finals in 2024. Due to the fact that two-way players are not allowed to play in the playoffs, Fudge was frequently spotted cheering on his team from the sidelines and attended most, if not all, of the playoff games alongside Brandon Williams.

Fudge still has plenty of time to improve as an offensive player, and he has a chance to join the Lakers if he has a strong training camp.