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

Top free agents signed with their new teams months ago, and training camp is still over three weeks away. This is the time that not much news circulates, but Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving blessed fans with some news on Wednesday night as he hopped on a Twitch stream to talk life and hoops.

Irving is eager to get back to the NBA Finals and took the blame for not being at his best. While most of the Mavs news over the last few days has been about Irving, a familiar face from last season is changing teams.

After being waived by Dallas along with the Kessler Edwards deal, former Mavs forward Alex Fudge is signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. Fudge signed a two-way deal with Dallas last season, and he is now returning to the Lakers. This deal happened with less than a month before training camp, and some more deals across the league may start tricking in over the next few weeks. This signing was much later than most other moves across the NBA, and now he has something to prove in Los Angeles.

Fudge played for the Lakers before he signed with the Mavs last season, and he’ll have to fight for a roster spot during training camp as the Lakers have a more stacked roster than anyone gives them credit for.

In two games for Dallas, Fudge averaged 5.5 points per game while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. Fudge never got much of a chance with the Mavs, and spent most of his time in the G League. He is a gifted defender but his offensive game has yet to fully pan out.

Fudge had a chance to prove himself to the Mavs during Summer League this year, but he struggled. He averaged 4.6 points per game while shooting 12.5 percent from downtown, and it may have been best for both sides to move on. Dallas’ wings must be able to knock down open shots to thrive, and Fudge has not developed that part of his game just yet.

Fudge’s run with Dallas was short, but he’ll be remembered for being on the team that reached the 2024 NBA Finals. Two-way players can’t play in the playoffs, but Fudge was always seen supporting his team from the sideline and was at most if not all of the playoff games along with Brandon Williams.

Fudge still has plenty of time to develop into a better offensive player, and a good training camp could end up landing him a spot on the Lakers’ roster.