Lakers Sign ‘Freakish’ French Forward to NBA Contract

The French invasion of the NBA has been moving along quietly in recent years, but a year after the league saw Victor Wembanyama go No. 1 overall to the Spurs, the full takeover came into focus in the 2024 draft, with the Top 2 picks—Zacharie Risachaer and Alexandre Sarr—both hailing from France, and two other of their countrymen going in the first round. The Lakers were late to the party, but acquired one of the best French talents available, signing forward Armel Traore just after the draft was completed.

Traore is 21 and has spent the last three seasons playing pro ball in France. He was a teammate of Wembanyama last season with Paris’ Metropolitans 92, and moved on to ADA Blois 41 this season.

But Traore had an up-and-down season with Blois, struggling with his shooting for much of the year before putting together a strong finish. He wound up with averages of 10.8 points and 7.3 rebounds on the season, and shot 54.1% from the field—but only 26.2% from the 3-point line.

His ability to be consistent when shooting from the perimeter will likely make or break Traore’s NBA career. He did make 45.8% from the arc in 2022-23, though that was on just 24 shots.

Armel Traore an Excellent Defender

As it stands, Traore is an NBA-caliber defensive player even without the shot. He is 6-foot-8 with long arms, and is not afraid to be physical, with a talent for keeping his body in front of his target. Good defensive instincts and physical tools help pull the package together.

“You could put him on an NBA floor today and he would hold his own defensively,” one NBA personnel man told Heavy Sports. “And he does enough things for you offensively that he is not going to hurt you our there. He can run the floor, he can get out in transition and finish. He is a very good cutter if you’ve got good passers, he is going to get himself open.

“Really, just a freakish athlete, can’t say enough about his athleticism. I think it was a little bit of a surprise he did not get drafted. He was one of the guys a lot of teams had on the radar, and they gave him a two-way spot. He did not get an Exhibit 10 deal. That’s because there was competition for him, for sure.”

Lakers Have 2 Two-Way Spots Filled

The Lakers did sign Traore to one of their three two-way spots on the roster. They also added Pitt forward Blake Hinson as another two-way player, and have a third spot open. A two-way spot allows the player to split the season between the NBA and G League, and pays a player half of the NBA minimum.

It’s unclear what the Lakers will do with their other two-way spot. Last year’s two-way players—Colin Castleton, Skylar Mays and Harry Giles—are all now free agents, though the Lakers could opt to keep them.

The Lakers also could wind up being impressed with one of the players they’ve signed to an Exhibit 10 contract, which are essentially training camp contracts. Among the Lakers’ Exhibit 10 signees are Xavier’s Quincy Olivari and Missouri’s Sean East.