Getty Los Angeles Lakers guard Trevelin Queen.
The Los Angeles Lakers don’t have many roster spots left but have plenty of competition heading into training camp. With rookie guard Austin Reaves recently getting signed, the team now has one guaranteed roster spot and one two-way contract left available. The team is planning to keep the guaranteed spot open heading into the season but is likely looking to find somebody to seize that two-way contract in training camp.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers are adding guard Trevelin Queen to the mix.
Free agent guard Trevelin Queen has signed a partially guaranteed training camp deal with the L.A. Lakers, his agent, Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management, told ESPN. He averaged 13.2 pts on 54% from 3 and 2.0 stl per game for the Lakers’ summer league team in Las Vegas
Queen came into the NBA as an undrafted rookie last year but didn’t get a chance to play in the regular season. He spent this offseason’s summer league with Los Angeles and played well. He averaged 13.2 points a game and made 54% of his threes. There’s no doubt that caught the team’s eye. He’ll have to fight off Mac McClung, Chaundee Brown and Cam Oliver for that last two-way contract. Continuing to hit threes at a high clip would certainly help Queen’s chances of making the team.
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Head Coach Frank Vogel Still Looking to Commit to Defense
This offseason, the Lakers gave up some key defenders in order to bring in offensive help. The team has been built on having a strong defense in recent years and that’s a big reason they won a championship in 2020. Despite the loss of defensive talent, head coach Frank Vogel is confident the team can play well on that side of the court.
“Yeah, we lost some strong perimeter defenders, but we’ve got great two-way players and no one that we feel is really a liability,” Vogel said at Lakers Media Day Tuesday. “We have a smart scheme that I think our guys will come in and compete in. And we’re going to set a high standard for what we can accomplish on a defensive end. Are we going to be the No. 1 defense in the league again? I don’t know. We have the rim protection to do it, we have the minds to do it, we have the athleticism to do it. Is this group going to commit like the teams of the last couple of years? That’s going to be the question and that that’s going to be the challenge placed upon them.”
As long as the Lakers have Anthony Davis and LeBron James, they shouldn’t have any issue stopping teams. However, it remains to be seen if the team as a whole can reach the same heights on defense.
LeBron Reveals This Season’s Goal
With the Lakers having so much talent and an older roster, it’s championship-or-bust this season. LeBron admitted as much during media day.
“The ultimate goal is to obviously win a championship,” LeBron said Tuesday. “And it starts with, obviously, health as the No. 1 thing. We’re excited to know that we’ve given ourselves another opportunity to be available to each other, and that’s what it came down to.”
The Lakers are only a year removed from winning a title but seriously retooled their roster this offseason and added a superstar in Russell Westbrook. There’s no doubt the roster has more talent than it did when they won the title. What remains to be seen is how all the pieces fit in together.
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