The Los Angeles Lakers may be firmly in a win-now mode, with superstar point guard Luka Doncic and fellow star Austin Reaves in the early stages of their prime, but there is still plenty of buzz surrounding the youngsters on the roster.
Lakers fans are especially looking forward to what Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero can bring to the table. While few expect either player to contribute in a big way immediately, Lakers Nation has its eyes peeled for each player’s development, especially after watching the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs quickly mold their young talent into major contributors.
Of the two young Lakers, fans will especially have their sights set on Carr, the team’s first round pick in this year’s draft.
Lakers Projected to Make a Key Minutes Decision on Carr
So, what is the easiest way to tell if a player is reaching his stride? By giving him meaningful playing time. It has been a while since the Lakers have featured an exciting rookie. While Carr doesn’t exactly have the hype around him like Lonzo Ball did years ago, any first round pick will have expectations in the NBA.
Lakers analyst Trevor Lane put together a chart of the Lakers’ projected rotation and the amount of minutes each player could play. Lane projects Carr, 21, will crack a 10-man rotation and earn a modest 12 minutes per game.
Here are the 10 players Lane believes will be in the rotation and the projected minutes each player will earn.
- Luka Doncic
- Austin Reaves
- Walker Kessler
- Quentin Grimes
- Sandro Mamukelashvili
- Matisse Thybulle
- Ziaire Williams
- Collin Sexton
- Jake LaRavia
- Cameron Carr
Just making the rotation, Carr averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from the 3-point line in 34 appearances for Baylor University during the 2025-26 season.
Said Lane: “I had to decide, is Adou Thiero in there? Or is Cameron Carr in there? I had to pick between the two. Notice Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t make it. I think the easy ones (are) Bronny, Hardy, Looney. … Bronny, Hardy and Looney not being in the rotation, that’s the easy part. And that’s not to be disrespectful to them. I just think that’s I how I see things shaking out.”
Carr Could Quickly Work His Way Up the Ranks
It is saying a lot that Lane projects Carr to play over veteran swingman Jarred Vanderbilt and former first round pick Dalton Knecht, who wasn’t even featured on the list.
Carr could be for the Lakers what they hoped Knecht would be, and that may be why Lane believes the Lakers drafted Carr despite needing to boost the frontcourt.
“Cameron Carr is better at everything that Dalton Knecht does well,” Lane said in an earlier episode of the Lakers Nation podcast. “When it comes to his ability to score, he is also a three-level scorer, he’s longer, lankier, reads the game a bit better, better defensively certainly, and he’s got work to do defensively, but he’s better defensively right now than Dalton Knecht. All the stuff that you were hoping Dalton Knecht would do — provide range, have the ability to shoot the 3, score from the midrange, get to the basket — Cameron Carr is better with all those things. So they’ve replaced him already. They already replaced Dalton Knecht. They’ve moved on.”
Carr, the 24th selection in the 2026 NBA Draft, has expectations, alright, especially after he shined in summer league, averaging 18.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game in four appearances.
The new NBA rewards drafting and developing talent. The Thunder and Spurs are proving that formula right before everyone’s eyes.
Carr will be expected to perform right away.
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