4. Who gets the 14th spot on the Los Angeles Lakers roster?
While the Los Angeles Lakers traded Marc Gasol to open up space for DeAndre Jordan and save some money against the luxury tax, it still opened a roster spot for the team to use. If Gasol would have stuck around Jordan would have been the 14th players on the Lakers roster, essentially filling the group.
NBA rosters can have up to 15 players but that 15th spot is going to be saved for a buyout or some sort of in-season signing. For that reason, the cap in the offseason was accepted to be 14.
The Lakers are back down to 13 with the Gasol trade and one thing is for certain: Wang Zhelin is not going to be taking a roster spot. There are several other options, though.
The most logical route for the Lakers to go is James Ennis. The team could use more depth at wing and Ennis is the best wing available. He is not an elite three-point shooter or defender but he is certainly serviceable in both areas and has athleticism that is really exciting alongside the Lakers’ star players.
However, the team could throw a curveball and sign a veteran like JJ Redick or even try and land a younger free agent whose market is down, such as Garrison Mathews.
It would be shocking if the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make another move and who knows, by the time you are reading this they may have already made said move.