With training camp just weeks away, the Los Angeles Lakers currently have 16 players under guaranteed contracts, one more than the maximum 15 allowed. This means the team will have to either cut or trade someone before the start of the regular season with Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt seeming to be the most likely candidates.
But the Lakers also may not be done looking to improve the roster. In particular, the team could still be looking to bring in another forward after failing to sign Jonathan Kuminga.
“I do think that the Lakers are still going to be looking at potentially trading Dalton [Knecht], Jarred Vanderbilt,” Bleacher Report’s NBA insider Jake Fischer said. “I think there’s plenty of time here before they have to make a decision. They do, I believe, still want to make some type of trade upgrade at the wing/forward spot after missing out on Jonathan Kuminga. I do think the Lakers are incomplete right now moving forward.”
Knecht would seem to be the more likely to be moved as he has a cheaper contract with a team option for 2028, so a team could move on much easier should they acquire him. Vanderbilt, on the other hand, is not only owed $12.4 million this season, but also has a player option for next year at over $13 million, which is far less appealing to teams.
It will also be interesting to see whether Vanderbilt’s beloved status as a teammate could play a role in whether the Lakers move on or not. He took on a role as something of a protector for Luka Doncic last season and the two seem to have developed a close friendship, which could force the Lakers to think twice before moving on from him.
If the Lakers are still eyeing an upgrade on the wing, a move closer to the start of the regular season would be the more feasible option as teams would have an idea of how they want to trim down their rosters and could look for a trade as opposed to outright cutting someone. Either way, it sounds as if the Lakers still aren’t done putting this roster together and will be a team to keep an eye on as the season nears.
Luka Doncic picks Lakers player to switch lives with for one day
Doncic is one of the biggest stars in the entire NBA, let alone on the Lakers so him having to switch lives with one of his teammates for the day would be interesting to say the least. And when asked which player he would choose to swap, he indeed chose Vanderbilt.
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