The Los Angeles Lakers announced Monday that they have waived Yi Jianlian, per the request of Yi and his agent.

The announcement was made hours after the Chinese center had spoken with the team and asked to be released ahead of LA's final roster cuts.

Yi was signed by the Lakers in August following his strong play with China in the Rio Olympics.

It's believed the 28-year-old decided to seek his release after the role he had been expecting didn't pan out.

It was not immediately known whether he would try to hook up with another NBA team or look to return to the Chinese Basketball Association.

The 7-footer was the sixth overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2007 draft and also had stints with the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks in parts of five NBA seasons.

Yi spent the past four seasons with Guangdong, and averaged more than 20 points for China in its five games in Rio.