Getty New Los Angeles Lakers guard Bryce Hamilton.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a week to decide what their regular season roster will look like and there are a handful of players who will cause some tough decisions for the team. Matt Ryan is a player who is already in Darvin Ham’s good graces but there’s still a lot that can happen in the coming week. As the October 17 deadline looms, the team continues to tinker with the roster.
The Lakers announced that they’ve signed guard Bryce Hamilton and requested waivers for LJ Figueroa to make room.
The Lakers have signed guard Bryce Hamilton and requested waivers on guard LJ Figueroa.
Hamilton is a Los Angeles, California native who graduated from UNLV this year. He went undrafted and no team has given him a chance until now. According to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears, the guard is a “big-time scorer” as he averaged 21.8 points a game during his senior season.
Hamilton’s shooting leaves a lot to be desired. He only made 33.1% of his threes during his four years at UNLV. The best way for an undrafted free agent out of college to make a roster is to be a knockdown shooter or a great defensive player. Hamilton will have to prove in the next that he can thrive in one of those aspects. He was named First-team All-Mountain West twice during his time in time college.
Figueroa was just recently signed by the Lakers but couldn’t make enough of an impression in his brief time in Los Angeles.
Lakers Could Be Without Troy Brown Jr. To Start Season
The Lakers have mostly stayed healthy this offseason but could be without a new player to start the regular season. Troy Brown Jr. has been dealing with a back injury and has yet to participate in a full practice. Fortunately, Brown’s injury isn’t considered too serious. However, it’s likely he’ll miss the season opener, according to Ham.
“This is just a plan that was put in place way beforehand and even though a guy is able to go through an individual workout doesn’t mean he’s quite capable of playing versus contact or in a real NBA game as well,” Ham said, via The Los Angeles Times. “Again, he’s right on schedule with what he’s supposed to be doing. And hopefully, when we do get him back … we’re excited about him. He was having a great summer before he hurt his back. But it’s par for the course — injuries are a part of sport, a part of our daily lives.
“We just want to be careful with him and, again, stick to the plan and do what we set out to do.”
Dennis Schroder Returns to Team
While it looks like Brown will miss some time, the Lakers did get some good news with Dennis Schroder finally returning to Los Angeles. The veteran guard has been dealing with an issue regarding his visa but he’s gotten it resolved. For the first time this offseason, Schroder was in the building practicing with his new/old teammates.
Dennis Schroder is back in the building.
Getting Schroder back before the season starts is a good sign for the Lakers. Though he was a divisive figure by the fan base in the past, he’s on a one-year contract and eager to prove that the team was right for originally trading for him back in 2020.