photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas sophomore guard Malik Newman fires a shot during pre-game warmups prior to Saturday's game against Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse.

Former Kansas guard Malik Newman, who helped lead the Jayhawks to the 2018 Final Four and was one of the hottest guards in the country during the NCAA Tournament, has landed with his second NBA team since going undrafted in June.

Michael Scotto, who covers the NBA for The Athletic, tweeted the news on Friday night.

The Jackson, Miss., native who agreed to a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in the hours following the June 21 NBA Draft, played in just a couple of games with L.A. during NBA summer league action before being waived.

Nagging injuries played a part in Los Angeles deciding to move on from Newman, who started 33 of 39 games for the Jayhawks during the 2017-18 season, his lone season of eligibility at KU.

Newman, a former five-star prospect dubbed a likely one-and-done prospect, came to Kansas following his freshman season at Mississippi State in 2015-16. He sat out the 2016-17 season, practicing against the Frank Mason/Josh Jackson-led Jayhawks every day during his redshirt season and became eligible at the start of the 2017-18 season.

After an up-and-down regular season, Newman got red hot when the postseason arrived, shooting 53 percent overall and 54 percent from 3-point range during KU’s eight postseason contests, to help lead the Jayhawks on a monster run that ended in San Antonio and left many pundits believing he had played himself into the NBA Draft.

After declaring for the draft shortly after the end of the regular season, Newman went undrafted, much to the surprise and disappointment of KU coach Bill Self, who said on draft night, “Did he make a bad decision to come out? I don’t think so. He’ll do it the hard way like Wayne Selden did, but he’ll get there.”

Newman’s two-way contract gives him a chance to develop in the G League while earning some minutes in the big leagues should the opportunity arise.

Based on the lightning-quick move by the Lakers to sign him after the draft, it looked as if that development would play out in California, but now Newman finds himself hoping to jump-start his pro career on the opposite coast.