The Los Angeles Lakers are shoring up their team ahead of training camp.

The Lakers have re-signed their own former two-way player, forward Alex Fudge, the team announced in a press statement Thursday night.

Although exact terms of the agreement have not been revealed, it appears most likely that the deal is an Exhibit 10 contract. All 15 of the Lakers’ standard roster spots are filled, as are L.A.’s three two-way slots.

The 21-year-old went unselected in the 2023 NBA Draft following two NCAA seasons, first with Louisiana State University in 2021-22, next with the University of Florida in 2022-23. He agreed to a two-way deal with the Lakers, and logged time with L.A.’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, in El Segundo.

Los Angeles waived him after he appeared in just four games for the Lakers proper in January.

Fudge then inked a two-way deal for two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks in March. He suited up for just two games with Dallas. Because his contract wasn’t converted into a standard deal prior to the 2024 playoffs, Fudge did not get to suit up for any of the Mavericks’ games during the team’s run to the 2024 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Across 33 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the South Bay Lakers and the Mavericks’ NBAGL squad, the Texas Legends, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 8.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks across 18.5 minutes of action. He scored a career-most 18 points while with the South Bay Lakers in a December 2 matchup against the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.

During Summer League this year, Fudge played for Dallas once again, although it appears the Mavericks ultimately opted not to sign him to a training camp agreement. In five games with the Summer League Mavericks, he averaged 4.6 points on 37.9 percent field goal shooting, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.6 steals a night.

Beyond L.A.’s established standard and two-way contracts, Fudge will join previously-announced Exhibit 10 signings Kylor Kelley and Quincy Olivari, along with reported training camp players Sean East and Jordan Goodwin. All will no doubt be hoping to become affiliate players with South Bay. Any Exhibit 10 signing who is waived ahead of the season and latches on with that team’s affiliate NBAGL club becomes eligible after 60 days for a signing bonus, worth up to $77,500 this year.

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It is now almost five months since Leeds United legend Stuart Dallas announced his retirement from football.

Dallas had spent almost two years on the sidelines after suffering a femur fracture back in April 2022 during a 4-0 defeat to Manchester City at Elland Road.

He tried everything in his attempts to get back out on the pitch, including multiple surgeries and even a couple of returns to full team training.

However, unfortunately for Dallas, he was never able to fully recover enough to return to action and so instead opted to call time on his playing career just a couple of months before the end of his contract at Leeds.

Dallas remained a huge part of the dressing room at Leeds even when he wasn’t playing, helping Wilfried Gnonto get back on track after his transfer request, as well as Archie Gray when he spent much of the 2022/23 season injured.

The new role Dallas looks to be in after Leeds retirement

Following the decision to hang up his boosts, Daniel Farke confirmed he wanted Dallas to still be at Leeds in some capacity this season.

At that point, it was not decided what sort of role that could be, though some sort of ambassadorial or coaching position seemed the most likely.

However, while that has remained undecided, Dallas has been doing a couple of different things within the game, including some punditry for Sky Sports.

Dallas was in the studio for Leeds’ 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion, but according to Yorkshire Evening Post writer Graham Smyth, it looks as though he has landed another.

Smyth was in attendance at Windsor Park on Thursday night as Northern Ireland defeated Luxembourg 2-0 and claimed Dallas was actually part of the coaching setup for the home side.

Dallas was, of course, capped on 62 occasions by his country and so perhaps it is no surprise he is helping out manager Michael O’Neill, who the vast majority of his appearances came under.

Dallas deserves a role at Leeds

Being in the coaching setup for Northern Ireland would suggest that is the avenue in which Dallas is looking to go down post-retirement.

With that in mind, Leeds should certainly look at handing him a similar role at Elland Road, with one in the academy a good starting point.

There would not be a better role model for young players hoping to make it at Leeds to look up to than Dallas, which is a good starting point in itself.

His time under Marcelo Bielsa should also stand him in good stead given how much he is revered by other coaches and managers across football.

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NORTH TEXAS – Communities In Schools of the Dallas Region places trained staff on campuses to provide daily intervention to “at-risk” students and families.

Their impact extends beyond the classroom to reach not only students but also their families. 

The purpose of the Youth Mental Health First Aid intervention training is to prepare teachers and parents on how to recognize and react if a child is having a mental health crisis. 

We’re familiar with first aid skills to help people in emergencies, but how about first aid for those whose struggles may not be so visible?

Hillary Evans, a mom of three and graduate of youth mental health first aid training, says these are added skills to help everyone stay prepared, for every possible scenario.

“It’s important to keep an open dialogue and even through nonverbal communication being able to recognize you know some of the signs that could be a warning sign for mental health challenge that that youth may be facing,” Evans said. 

Communities in Schools of the Dallas Region helps over 100 schools across 12 districts focus on “at-risk” students. Of the 10,000+ students they support, 61% meet one or more state criteria to be considered “at-risk” of dropping out of school. That’s 7% higher than the state rate.

“We say centered around keeping kids in schools. We are in schools to keep kids in schools,” Dr. Summer Rose, Communities in Schools of the Dallas Region’s Chief Clinical Officer said. 

The course introduces common mental health challenges, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan on how to intervene.

“This is a course that is designed to teach adults about the signs and symptoms of a youth mental health crisis, and then what to do when you find yourself in that situation,” Dr. Rose said. 

The youth mental health first aid training covers topics including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, disruptive behavior, and eating disorders. 

“Unfortunately, I think that our youth are experiencing mental health challenges at very young ages, and again this is attributed to the environmental factors from social media to academic social pressures,” Evans said. 

The training provides a measured approach, not to diagnose a mental health illness, but to recognize and have a step-by-step action plan on how to intervene. 

“I think sometimes we can get caught up in our emotions in a crisis, and this training provides a framework,” Evans said. 

As a parent and an advocate for youth mental health, Hilary Evans says she needed to be able to know the warning signs. 

“One in five youth experience a mental health challenge during their lifetime. So, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” 

The next free training is in the fall — Wednesday, October 23rd, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The complete training is eight hours. Two of those hours consist of online pre-work that has to be completed before the in-person training. Registration is online at CISDallas.org.