After lining up a one-year deal last week with Spanish club Basquet Manresa, Jake Layman will be returning stateside due to an injury, the team announced in a press release.
According to Manresa, Layman’s physical exam revealed that he has a herniated disk in his back. As a result, the veteran forward has opted to head back to the U.S. to undergo a procedure to address the injury, and the two sides have agreed to terminate his one-year contract.
A Massachusetts native, Layman was in camp with the Celtics this fall competing for a spot on the regular season roster, but was beaten out by Noah Vonleh and Justin Jackson. Boston cut him at the end of the preseason and he had been on track to play overseas for the first time in his professional career.
A second-round pick in 2016, Layman has appeared in 243 regular season games across six NBA seasons in Portland and Minnesota. In total, the former Maryland forward has averaged 4.8 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .460/.300/.719 shooting in 12.8 minutes per contest over the course of his NBA career.
It’s unclear how long it will take Layman to recover following his procedure, but he’ll remain a free agent, so he could be worth keeping an eye on later in the 2022-23 season if he gets back to full health.
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