With less than a week remaining until the start of the regular season, now is the time that teams begin releasing players and finalizing their rosters. That is the case for the Los Angeles Lakers who have a number of players on training camp invitations and one of the more intriguing players was guard Mac McClung.
McClung was well known from his college basketball career where he was one of the best players in the Big 12 Conference while playing for Texas Tech. While undersized, he was known as an excellent scorer, and the Lakers brought him on their Summer League team while also giving him an invite to camp.
His run with the Lakers has come to an end for the time being, however, as the team has chosen to waive McClung, who will now join the franchise’s G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
The Lakers are waiving Mac McClung, sources tell @TheAthletic. McLung will join the Lakers' G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 13, 2021
While McClung was always a longshot to make the roster, the purpose of signing young players to these training camp deals is that it allows them to get an up-close look at an interesting player, and also allows the team to keep a close eye on him as he transitions to their G-League affiliate in South Bay.
The same will likely be the case for Cameron Oliver and Trevelin Queen, who have gotten sparse minutes for the Lakers this preseason and perhaps either Chaundee Brown or Joel Ayayi depending on the final decision the Lakers make regarding their two-way contracts.
Brown has stood out in the preseason and outplayed Ayayi so far, leading some to believe he is deserving of that two-way contract that Ayayi currently has and Frank Vogel even mentioning that he has made a great case for it. With Sekou Doumbouya recently signing to the team’s second two-way spot, it looks as if the team will have a difficult decision to make.
Chaundee Brown ‘making a case’ for Lakers’ two-way contract
Brown, along with McClung, was one of the players the Lakers added on ahead of Summer League and training camp as potential contributors down the line. Though McClung has been released, Brown seems to have a real shot at nabbing a two-way contract and head coach Frank Vogel admitted that he is making a case for it.
“Yeah, he’s making a case,” Vogel said. “He’s performing well, obviously with the premier shooting and the defensive physical toughness, you can have success in this league. So he’s a dark horse.
“And he’s tough. He has the mindset of blowing up screens and being really physical on the glass. So he’s done a good job for us in camp and like I said, he’s a guy that can shoot the ball from the perimeter, take plays off the bounce and compete at a high level on the defensive end, you got a chance.”
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