The Los Angeles Lakers have a new-look roster from the top down. Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and more were added to the star duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves this offseason. However, there were even more moves made along the margins, like the addition of Arthur Kaluma on a two-way contract.
Kaluma, an undrafted free agent from the 2025 NBA Draft class, had a stellar showing at Summer League in Las Vegas. That, coupled with his performance for the South Bay Lakers last season, earned him a promotion to two-way player. Grimes, one of the new Lakers, was courtside to watch Kaluma’s 34-point Summer League coming out party, and was impressed with the young forward.
“No, I mean you can tell guys who have a little bit of different swagger, different attention to detail during the game and a little bit more of a pop and aggressiveness,” Grimes said on 710 AM ESPN L.A. with Mason & Ireland. “You could tell that from the jump at the last game. We were watching it, he’s shooting the ball and every time he shot it, we thought it was going in. Me, Collin (Sexton), Bronny (James), we thought it was good every time he shot it. He just plays with a different confidence and a different kind of swagger, so he definitely an NBA player for sure, 100%.”
It’s unclear how big a role the two-way players will play for a Lakers team that is hoping to contend for a championship, but Kaluma undoubtedly earned his place. And Grimes believes that Kaluma could go a step further and make a real impact at the NBA level.
Kaluma and Chris Mañon — two of L.A.’s three two-way players — both look like they could quickly make that kind of leap, given the way they dominated each end of the floor at Summer League. And even before training camp begins, Kaluma has the endorsement of one of the Lakers’ highest-paid players.
Quentin Grimes putting in work for Lakers role
Grimes is expected to play a role he hasn’t quite played yet in the NBA, as a primary defensive option next to Doncic and Reaves as well as a secondary on-ball creator. However, he believes he is more than capable of that and is ready to put in the work to do it.
“I knew I was gonna have a little more bigger offensive role,” Grimes said on Mason & Ireland on ESPN LA Radio. “Gotta know who you’re playing with, Luka he sets you up anywhere on the court so just making sure I’m in those corners, getting those corner 3s up. But also, I know I have the ball in my hands a lot coming off pick-and-rolls, making plays.
“I feel like my last two seasons in Dallas and Philly I was able to kind of show my whole package offensively. Making reads, whether that’s creating shots for me or creating shots for my teammates. So I feel like knowing that, coming into that I’ve been working on that the whole time and getting work in with the couple of player development guys already so it’s been phenomenal honestly.”
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