The Los Angeles Lakers have made two roster moves as they prepare to start their season Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers have announced that they have waived Rafael Castro and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones with a couple more practices left before the start of the season. Both players had signed Exhibit 10 contracts in the past few days.
The Los Angeles team are also facing a major decision about the standard contracts on their roster as they have 16, but are allowed to start the season with 15. Dalton Knecht has emerged as the main candidate to be moved or waived to solve this issue.
Castro and Tait-Jones leave the Lakers after a few days with the team
Castro, a 6-foot-10, 224-pound big man, had joined Los Angeles after already spending time with two NBA organizations since going undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Shortly after the draft, Castro signed a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks and later played for their Summer League team.
Milwaukee waived him in August before he signed another two-way deal with the Houston Rockets on Aug. 26. Houston waived Castro on Oct. 1, clearing the way for his move to Los Angeles.
The 23-year-old spent his final two college seasons at George Washington after beginning his career at Providence.
Tait-Jones, the UC San Diego product, who was named Big West Player of the Year in 2025, played for Latvian club Valmiera Glass VIA last season, winning the LBL championship and the Latvian Cup.
As such, he clinched Finals MVP honors while helping Valmiera capture the 2026 Latvian-Estonian Basketball League championship, averaging 15.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
He played for the Toronto Raptors' Summer League team after going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft.