The Los Angeles Lakers have plowed their way through the offseason, and no one would accuse them of sitting still. They currently have 16 players on the roster, and only seven of them were with the team last year, including two players–Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt–they’ve been actively trying to move on from. The Walker Kessler–Luka Doncic–Austin Reaves era is here, and the Lakers will hope that the mass of role players they’ve brought in will give them enough support.
There are, however, obvious holes. With 16 roster spots, the Lakers would need to get rid of at least one player, though they can carry as many as 20 through training camp in October. The team does not have a starting-quality power forward, and Kevon Looney is the current backup center. He’s just not good enough at this point in his career to be second on the depth chart.
The Lakers added two wing gambles, Ziaire Williams and oft-inured Matisse Thybulle, but in addition to lacking size up front, are short on shooting. The holes are obvious.
Lakers Have 16 Players on the Roster
And according to ESPN Lakers insider Dave McMenamin, the Lakers are still looking to fill them.
Speaking on the network’s “NBA Today” program, McMenamin said, “There’s 16 players on the team. So just by virtue of that information, they aren’t done. Between now and the start of the regular season, they could carry 16, they carry up to 20 through training camp, but through now, the start of the regular season, you’ve got to get rid of a player.
“Whether that’s going to be continuing to try to move someone like Jarred Vanderbilt or Dalton Knecht that they’ve not had success with thus far and they’ve, quite frankly, tried for a while here, or could it be someone like Jaden Hardy who was picked up in the Deandre Ayton deal? That was really more about trying to get some draft assets from Washington and move off of Ayton to make room for your new centers with Kevon Looney and Walker Kessler than it was about Hardy. That’s one thing that absolutely has to happen. So that means their work’s not done.”
Jonathan Kuminga Lingers
The problem with trying to do work in late July is that most of the players you’d want to add to the Lakers roster are accounted for, having signed as free agents or been traded already. The Lakers are known to be in the hunt for Jonathan Kuminga, and it sometimes feels as though fans and observers have put their eggs into Kuminga’s basket.
But he not a natural power forward, and has been very inconsistent in his performance over five seasons with Golden State and for a half-season with the Hawks last year. He’s hardly a roster savior. With few other options, though, the perception of Kuminga has skyrocketed.
Nick Richards a Lakers Option
Realistically, the Lakers do have a chance to add another backup center, but again, the choices are not ideal.
Nick Richards is the best option still on the board, and he has had trouble staying healthy. he is no doubt a backup but the production is good when he gets on the floor, and he can give the Lakers the dunker they’d like behind Kessler. Last season, 45 of his 103 field goals were dunks.
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