Tuesday night was another summer league showcase for the dazzling Cameron Carr. Even without having his most prolific shooting night from deep, the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round pick in 2026 scored a game-high 23 points to lead the team to a 99-85 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Carr has gotten to show off his scoring ability in spades during the summer league run as one of the premier options to let it fly among his current peers. The job is going to look much different playing next to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Summer league coach Ty Abbott acknowledged as much when speaking to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
"In this setting, you want to give [Carr] an opportunity to play confident and kind of play free, but at the same time you put him in situations that he's going to be in when he's with the Lakers and he's coming off of the bench or playing spot minutes."
It sure sounds like Abbott is quietly revealing the plans for Carr in the upcoming 2026-27 campaign. Perhaps even under JJ Redick with the main roster, the rookie sharpshooter is still poised for a path to rotational minutes.
Cameron Carr could quickly become a bench contributor for the Lakers next season
Abbott emphasized that building confidence is a big part of the summer league process, but he is making it clear with his rookie that an adjustment will be necessary when training camp comes and the job is to mold around the Lakers stars. How quicky Carr can make those changes could dictate how soon he sees the court in 2026-27.
Even before making any further changes to the roster, the Lakers do not need to feature Carr. They now have the depth to give him a year off to learn and grow in a non-playing capacity.
Carr's ability should give them a reason to consider a more streamlined process, though. The former Baylor Bear has the shooting and slashing ability to be a player who can position himself for buckets off Doncic and Reaves. His desire to be a strong defender only increases his playability.
Seeing as he is only 21 years old, Carr still has not fully filled out his frame just yet. The lengthy wing still comes in fairly light when contrasting his weight (estimated around 175 pounds) to his 6-foot-5 height. In layman's terms, he does not have his adult body yet.
That could pose some risk of him getting outmuscled by bigger and stronger players on both ends of the court. However, if the immense athleticism can make up for that in the short-term, the Lakers could have every reason to follow through on the opportunities that his summer league coach is setting him up for.
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