2. Final roster spot auditions
The Luol Deng saga came to an end earlier in September. The organization and Deng agreed to a buyout, which puts Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka squarely in position to land another max contract player next offseason. This season, however, it gives them some maneuverability as well.
With Deng no longer on the roster with a guaranteed contract, a roster spot has been opened up. The team reportedly has no immediate plans to fill that spot. Jamal Crawford has been mentioned as a possible addition while adding another veteran center to the mix wouldn’t be bad either.
One possible reason there were no immediate plans was that they wanted to see how their team looked in training camp. Teams are allowed to carry 20 players for training camp, so Los Angeles has some players they like from Summer League attending. One of those players could now be in line for a roster spot.
Johnathan Williams, Joel Berry III and Jeffery Carroll could be playing for a roster spot now. Travis Wear or Alex Caruso could have their two-way deal changed into a full-time deal, which would then open up a spot.
The young guys the Lakers have in camp have an excellent opportunity ahead of them. With an open roster spot, Los Angeles could opt to keep one of their own youngsters in place and continue developing them with the NBA team or the G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.