The Los Angeles Lakers currently have 17 players on their roster. Two of those 17 will be cut in order for the team to get down to the league-maximum of 15 players.
According to Bill Oram of OC Register, head coach Luke Walton still doesn’t know which two players will be waived before the regular season gets underway on Oct. 26:
There's a reason we're all guessing on Lakers final cuts. Luke Walton: "Honestly I have no idea right now who those two will be."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) October 17, 2016
The Lakers have two games left in the preseason in which they can evaluate the players on the roster bubble before the regular season starts. Walton and company will travel to his hometown of San Diego on Wednesday to face the Golden State Warriors a second time before heading to Anaheim for Friday’s game against the Phoenix Suns at the Honda Center.
With two more cuts to be made, it comes down to three specific players, via Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet:
Luke said Lakers would keep 15 players. Two will go, one will stay: Yi Jianlian, Metta World Peace and Thomas Robinson.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) October 17, 2016
Last year, it came down to Jabari Brown and Metta World Peace for the last roster spot. World Peace is in the same situation this time around, but with a bit more competition. Thomas Robinson has made an impression during his short time with the Lakers, and Yi Jianlian has a skill set that may be useful for Los Angeles.
As for World Peace, his on-court impact isn’t what it used to be, and he may very well end up being one of the two players cut. All three of the players on the bubble will more than likely get extended minutes in the remaining preseason games as Walton and his staff weigh the pros and cons of each player.