The Los Angeles Lakers continue to fill out their roster for the present and future, as officially filled all three of their two-way contract spots. This comes just before the start of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, with the signing of AK Okereke, Peter Suder, and Chris Manon.
While much of the attention around the Lakers’ offseason has focused on filling the roster around Luka Doncic and the departure of LeBron James, the franchise has prioritized young talent they hope could develop into solid rotation players.
With the Summer League about to begin in Las Vegas, the Lakers now have a chance to evaluate all three players against high-level competition before the start of training camp.
Chris Manon is the most familiar name of the trio.
The 6-foot-5 guard already spent time with the Lakers last season, appearing in nine games, while developing with the South Bay Lakers. He averaged 0.8 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 5.1 mins per game. For the South Bay Lakers, Manon averaged 11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 steals in the G League.
AK Okereke enters the team after splitting his college career between Cornell and Vanderbilt.
The 6-foot-7 forward is not expected to make an immediate NBA impact, but offers size and shooting for a modern wing. In his final season, he averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, shooting 48.1% from the field and 40.0% from three-point range.
Peter Suder might be the brightest college prospect out of the three.
After transferring to Miami, the 6-foot-5 guard had a breakout senior season, as he won the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year award. Suder averaged 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting 54.6% from the field.
The Summer League is the first audition for all these players. In the past few years, Nick Smith Jr. and Drew Timme earned standard contracts for the Lakers after arriving on two-way deals.
And these moves also continue a busy offseason for the Lakers.
The Lakers added Kevon Looney to strengthen their backup center position after they acquired Walker Kessler earlier in the summer. They are also active in the wing market and are hoping to add Jonathan Kuminga on a $20 million deal as Rob Pelinka continues to add valuable pieces around Luka Doncic. Rookie Cameron Carr has already generated buzz after strong performances during the California Classic.
While none of the three players under two-way contracts are expected to have big impacts, every championship team finds value from unexpected places. The Lakers will be hoping that one or two of these young players can develop into role players for the future.
