The Los Angeles Lakers had multiple standouts during Summer League this year. Rookie Cameron Carr and second-year wing Adou Thiero both had great showings, but one player who stepped up out of nowhere is forward Arthur Kaluma.
After playing for the South Bay Lakers last season, Kaluma was the Lakers’ leading scorer in Las Vegas and his play undoubtedly turned some heads around the league. In fact, the Lakers could be considering signing him to a two-way contract before another team steals him away, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
The Lakers could be on the edge of making a move on the margins, rewarding one of the best unsigned players at summer league, Arthur Kaluma, with a two-way deal before some other team beats them to it. Kaluma averaged 18.6 points on 60.9 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from 3, the 6-foot-7 forward building off a successful season for the Lakers in the G League.
Kaluma’s play in Las Vegas has undoubtedly earned him a contract somewhere in the league, so it makes sense that the Lakers would be thinking about signing him to a two-way deal. Athletic wings who can shoot the ball at a high level are always at a premium and Kaluma showed great improvements in his game this summer, which included a 34-point performance against the Dallas Mavericks that included knocking down six 3-pointers.
Signing Kaluma would require the Lakers to waive one of their current two-way players, however, as all three spots are currently filled by Chris Mañon, AK Okereke and Peter Suder. Of the three, Suder would seem the most likely to be let go as he struggled throughout Summer League and didn’t even see the floor during the team’s final contest against the Golden State Warriors.
Last season in South Bay, Kaluma appeared in 34 games averaging 14.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 54.5% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range so he has already shown he can contribute on a consistent basis. Now with how well he played in Las Vegas, Kaluma could be that much closer to landing a contract with the Lakers.
Jonathan Kuminga to Lakers momentum has ‘stalled’
Even though the roster is full, the Lakers are still looking at making some moves and one that has been rumored as a possibility for some time now has been the team signing wing Jonathan Kuminga. However, the momentum for that signing has stalled in recent weeks as the two sides remain far apart on terms for a deal.
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