At the start of the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers tendered a two-way qualifying offer to Chris Mañon, making him a restricted free agent. Now, the Lakers announced they have re-signed Mañon on another two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.
The Lakers getting Mañon back on a two-way contract to continue his development in the organization should be considered a massive win.
The 24-year-old is coming off a successful rookie season with the South Bay Lakers in which he averaged 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. In 13 Tip-Off Tournament games, Mañon averaged a league-high 2.6 steals to go with 1.5 blocks. He was named to the G League’s All-Defense team and finished second in G League Defensive Player of the Year voting as a rookie.
While the Lakers didn’t give Mañon any real opportunities with the parent team last season, perhaps he will get some chances this season, especially given their lack of wing defense.
The Lakers have made it clear that player development is a priority of theirs, and Mañon is a good test case. He can already defend at a high level but needs to improve his offensive game in a big way in order to be an NBA rotation player. At the very least though, JJ Redick can use him during the regular season to bring energy to the team as that is one thing that never wavers for Mañon on the court.
He will be suiting up for the Lakers this summer, which will give him an opportunity to work on his offensive game and demonstrate his progress going into training camp. As things currently stand, the Lakers’ roster is short on defensive wings so there could be a pathway to playing time for someone like Mañon if he impresses.
Lakers two-way contracts
Teams are allowed to sign three players to two-way contracts and as things currently stand, the Lakers have all three occupied.
Mañon is the only one who is returning from last season, while the Lakers added a pair of undrafted free agents in AK Okereke and Peter Suder shortly after the draft.
The Lakers could make some changes after Summer League or during training camp, but if they keep these three players then Mañon has the clearest path to playing time at the NBA level due to his projected role and experience. Depending on how things go in Summer League, the Lakers could makes some changes with their two-way contracts.
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