Former NBA second-round pick Maxwell Lewis has signed with Tofaş, the Turkish club announced in a press release.
The deal was actually completed in July, but slipped through the cracks for us at the time. Even though we’re a couple weeks late, we still want to dedicate a full story to the next stop for a player who was selected 40th overall in the 2023 draft and has spent the past two seasons in the NBA.
Drafted out of Pepperdine, Lewis began his professional career with the Lakers, but logged just 103 total minutes in 34 appearances at the NBA level as a rookie, playing primarily in garbage time. He earned a bigger role for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 14.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game across 28 outings in the G League in 2023/24.
The 6’7″ forward played in seven more games for Los Angeles and 10 more for South Bay to open the 2024/25 season before being sent to Brooklyn in December as part of the D’Angelo Russell/Dorian Finney-Smith trade.
Lewis was limited to 21 appearances for Brooklyn after fracturing his tibia in his first game as a Net. He averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game, with a .422/.380/.700 shooting line, then was waived in June before his salary for 2025/26 could become guaranteed.
Lewis received a small partial guarantee on his ’25/26 minimum salary, with the Nets carrying a $100K cap hit after releasing him.
Former NBA first-round pick Anzejs Pasecniks and Knicks draft-and-stash prospect Hugo Besson are among the other notable names on Tofaş’ roster. The club competes in Turkey’s Basketball Super League.