Lakers set to sign Travis Wear for the rest of the season

The Lakers are planning to sign Travis Wear for the rest of the season Friday, the day after his 10-day contract expires.

Wear played on two 10-day contracts with the Lakers, the maximum number the NBA allows.

“He holds his own in the NBA,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “With his shooting and the way that he sees the game, he’s definitely a very capable NBA player. I think he’s done a really nice job of representing himself and us in the two 10 days that he’s had.”

Wear has averaged 4.7 points in the 11.9 minutes he has played per game with the Lakers. He appeared in nine games for the Lakers at a time when they were growing thin at several positions due to injury. Wear had some familiarity with the Lakers’ system because he was playing for the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers’ developmental affiliate. His defense impressed Walton right from the start.

This opportunity came for Wear after he was out of the NBA for more than two full seasons. He last played in an NBA game in 2015 with the New York Knicks.

Wear becomes the second player in back-to-back years that the Lakers have kept on a pair of 10-day contracts then signed to a regular contract. Last season they signed David Nwaba to two 10-day contracts before signing him to a two-year deal whose second year was not guaranteed.

The Lakers waived Nwaba to make way for signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last summer, and Nwaba has spent this season with the Chicago Bulls.

KCP’s hot streak

For the second time this season, Caldwell-Pope recorded a career high in three-pointers. His eight three-pointers against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday matched his production against the Sacramento Kings in February. He missed only three, but he passed up a shot on the Lakers’ final possession.

“I just took what the game gave me,” Caldwell-Pope said. “On their defensive breakdowns I was open so I just let it fly.”

Caldwell-Pope was signed by the Lakers in part because of his shooting. In his last year in Detroit, Caldwell-Pope made 40% of his shots overall and 35% of his three-pointers. This season he’s shot 42.8% overall and 38.5% from three-point range.

Asked if he’s a better three-point shooter than he was with Detroit, Caldwell-Pope said, “Yeah because right now I got more repetition.” He said he’s worked to improve that part of his game. “I think I can improve just being consistent from the three-point line.”

Injury update

The Lakers are not planning to have a full practice Friday after flying to Memphis, but they could find a way to put Brandon Ingram through enough work to determine his readiness to play Saturday against the Grizzlies.

Ingram participated in shoot-around with the Lakers on Thursday, but has not been through a full practice. He suffered a strained groin March 1 in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat.

Channing Frye was active for the first time since having an appendectomy during the All-Star Break, but only in case of an emergency. He did not play against the Pelicans.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli