South Bay Lakers Sign Forward Tommy Rutherford

The South Bay Lakers have signed forward Tommy Rutherford. In a related move, the team waived guard Marlain Veal.

Rutherford (6’8”, 240) was drafted 20th overall in the 2024 NBA G League Draft by the Santa Cruz Warriors. The 27-year-old appeared in 112 international contests (110 starts) across four seasons in Lithuania (2023-24), Belgium (2022-23), Switzerland (2021-22) and Luxembourg (2020-21), posting averages of 12.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 25.2 minutes. Rutherford scored in double figures in 67 of those games, including 17 performances of 20+ points while shooting 61.5 percent from the field. The California native appeared in 140 games (96 starts) across four collegiate seasons at UC Irvine (2016-20), averaging 10.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20.0 minutes his senior season. 

Veal appeared in 10 games for South Bay this season, averaging 8.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 18.6 minutes.