Who’s Getting Cut?
While Black seems to have found his place on the Lakers roster after providing one of the only bright spots from the forward/center position last season, Black’s contract is non-guaranteed, and he could end up on the chopping block.
The Lakers pulling the trigger and signing Holmes was a pleasant surprise. He’s a work horse that rebounds on both ends of the floor and is never out hustled. That said, Holmes may be too similar to Nance Jr. and Black.
The battles these three will have in training camp will be fun to watch and should ultimately decide which of these two makes the roster.
Although the league is moving toward smaller lineups by the day, Holmes and Black would still be solid options even with a crowded power forward position.
The Lakers were log jammed at guard last year and face a similar problem with forwards this year. This could be proven more difficult with Upshaw in the picture.
The team only has one true center which makes the case for signing Upshaw that much more compelling.
Although it’s since been revealed Upshaw would not start as a rotation player, it seems obvious that stashing and developing him would yield more dividends than Kelly or Sacre could ever provide.
As I understand it, the Lakers hope to have Robert Upshaw in training camp, but he has some private personal steps he needs to achieve
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) August 30, 2015
Next: Projected Roster