Getty Los Angeles Lakers guard Chaundee Brown.
The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to get some roster reinforcements with players starting to get healthy. Talen Horton-Tucker returned this week and LeBron James is expected to be back on Friday. In the meantime, the team has decided to make a couple of roster moves.
The Lakers announced on Tuesday that they’ve signed rookie guard out of Michigan Chaundee Brown to a two-way contract.
OFFICIAL: Chaundee Brown Jr. has re-joined the #LakeShow on a two-way contract
Lakers fans will recognize that name as Brown was signed by the team after the draft as an undrafted free agent. He spent most of the offseason with the team before they moved on when the regular season roster was finalized. He must’ve left an impression for the team to bring him back at this juncture.
In a corresponding move, Los Angeles waived forward Sekou Doumbouya.
In a related move, the Lakers have requested waivers on forward Sekou Doumbouya.
He joined the Lakers late in the offseason and earned a roster spot. He even had a chance to play in two games this season, averaging seven points. Unfortunately for Doumbouya, he’s dealing with a hurt foot. Los Angeles is already injured enough and can’t afford to use up valuable roster spots on too many injured players. Perhaps there’s a path for Doumbouya to return once he gets healthy.
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Kendrick Nunn Still Not Nearing Return
GettyLakers guard Kendrick Nunn.
Injuries continue to be the biggest issue facing the Lakers this season. Horton-Tucker just recently made his return after missing the team’s first 15 games. LeBron has missed 11 games while Wayne Ellington has missed 10. That’s not to mention Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn who have yet to play a single game this season.
The Lakers could use a play like Nunn right now who can score and play a bit of defense. According to head coach Frank Vogel, it’s still going to be a while before he returns.
“He’s still a ways away. I don’t know what the exact timeline is,” Vogel said, via Silver Screen & Roll. “He just started experiencing some soreness in that knee right around the time when he had an ankle sprain, and it was concerning enough to have it looked at.
“They determined that to be safe, given the area in the knee that it was, that he needed to be off it for some time.”
Will Getting Healthy Fix Lakers’ Issues?
The Lakers haven’t been playing with a full deck all season and it shows in their record. The team is 8-7 and certainly doesn’t look like championship contenders. Luckily, they should be getting healthy in the near future. As noted earlier, LeBron has only played in six games. It’s safe to say the Lakers’ record would look different if he played in more games.
Nunn should also be a difference-maker when he returns to the court. Ariza is 36-years-old but will give a boost to the defense when he returns. The Lakers team we’re seeing right now isn’t the team we’ll see in a few months. If they get healthy, they should get more consistent play. However, injury issues were a concern when the Lakers put this roster together. It could be an issue all season which means bad things for their title chances.
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