The rush of players being released by teams in an effort to finalize their rosters ahead of NBA Opening Night created many opportunities across the league for relocation. The Los Angeles Lakers had interest in bringing a new face to town. Unfortunately for them, they came up short.
Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported there was one player who the Lakers were circling amid the leaguewide roster trims. Alongside the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles showed interest in adding Pete Nance on a two-way deal after he was released by the Milwaukee Bucks. They had no such luck.
Nance ended up returning to Milwaukee on a two-way, but the experience does pose a question: Who would the Lakers have dumped to make room for Nance? There is a reasonable line of thinking that leads one to believe it would have been Arthur Kaluma. That will be addressed shortly.
Before getting to that, though, there is another question that needs to be in the mix here, too. If it was Kaluma who the Lakers would have sent packing for Nance, what type of job security does the 24-year-old have moving forward?
Why Arthur Kaluma would have been the one gone for Pete Nance
AK Okereke has often been brought up as the odd man out among the two-ways whenever there is an eligible player of interest available. So, why Kaluma this time? That estimation comes from skill sets.
Kaluma got his two-way deal after a red-hot shooting summer with the Lakers at Las Vegas Summer League. Nance would have brought a similar ability to stretch the floor at the four-spot. The difference being is the latter has proven capable of it at the NBA level.
2.5 of Nance's 4.1 field goal attempts came from beyond the arc in the 2025-26 regular season with Milwaukee. In 47 appearances, the Bucks forward shot 42.0 percent on those 3-point looks. That is a pretty healthy mark.
Nance is a similarly modest athlete to Kaluma as well. The difference is the Bucks forward has proven capable of navigating those limitations at the NBA level with relatively sound fundamentals.
The long and short of this entire conversation: in several ways, Nance does what Kaluma does but better. One would imagine that would have led to the Lakers getting rid of the latter had they managed to sway Nance to leave Milwaukee.
Arthur Kaluma suddenly finds himself looking over his shoulder
Chris Mañon
is the safest of the three two-way guys in Los Angeles. The defensive-minded guard has been within the system for a while, and has flashed NBA-level upside. The Lakers just need to see more offense come along.
Previously, many would have reasonably believed Kaluma's extra year within the developmental system would have given him an edge over the more recently arrived Okereke in terms of staying put with the Lakers. Is that truly the case?
If the Lakers are looking to add a new face to their two-way spots, it could come down to that aforementioned matter of skill sets. Depending on who Los Angeles is targeting, it may be about eliminating redundancy. That lessens any degree of comfort Kaluma may have felt beforehand.
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