The Lakers announced that they would not be picking up the option on Sun Yue, the 6-8 Chinese guard who won an NBA championship ring during his one and only season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

With the move, the Lakers essentially waive Sun, allowing the 23-year old guard from Shanghai to pursue other opportunities.

“(The Lakers) were all class. But because of the depth on their roster, we both knew that even if he made the team there wouldn’t be a lot of opportunity to play and the Lakers didn’t want to hold him back.” said Sun Yue’s agent Charles Bonsignore.

In between two stints with the NBDL, Sun played sparingly for the Lakers, only logging minutes in ten games.  He scored a total of six points in 28 minutes all season including 4 points, 4 fouls, and 2 turnovers in a five minute span against the Milwukee Bucks in early December.

The Lakers drafted Sun in 2007 with the 40th overall pick, and the team held a $736,000 option on Sun for next season.  His option was waived the same day that  Lamar Odom agreed to a multiyear deal to return to Los Angeles.

“I want to thank Sun Yue for his professionalism and for the contributions he made to our team last season,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “Sun is a young player who will no doubt continue to improve in the coming years.”

Sun Yue spent eight seasons with the Beijing Aoshen Olympians of the Chinese Basketball Association and the American Basketball Association.  Before being drafted into the NBA, Sun Yue was honored on the All-ABA First Team with averages of 13.5 points, 10.5 assists, 6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 2 blocks.