The Los Angeles Lakers signed undrafted rookies AK Okereke and Peter Suder to play in the Summer League this offseason, but only the former stayed on the roster.
Suder recently signed a training camp contract with the Chicago Bulls, and the Lakers could quickly realize that it was the wrong move to let him go.
Suder was a standout in college at Bellarmine and Miami (Ohio), and after leaving the Lakers to sign with the Bulls, he has the chance to become a consistent contributor on a two-way contract with Chicago after Los Angeles gave him his first NBA experience before cutting ties with the 23-year-old guard.
Peter Suder Could Shine With Bulls After Lakers Summer League Stint
Writing for LakeShowLife.com, Svyatoslav Rovenchuk discussed how the Bulls could be getting a hidden gem by signing Suder to a training camp deal.
“Suder failed to maintain his two-way deal after Las Vegas Summer League. After getting to watch the undrafted guard in their own threads, the Lakers decided there was a better candidate for his spot,” he wrote. “The Bulls will naturally hope to prove the Lakers wrong for giving up on Suder so quickly and so easily after pushing hard to acquire him after the 2026 NBA Draft.”
During his stint at Summer League, Suder averaged 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 44.4% shooting in the 15.3 minutes he played in five games.
However, while the Lakers might not have been keen on keeping the undrafted rookie, there’s a chance he finds a role with the Bulls this upcoming season.
“But when you stack Suder up against (Chicago’s other) pieces (including the Bulls’ other Exhibit 10 signing, Houston Mallette), he offers one thing they don’t—lights-out perimeter shooting,” G.C. Bellchamber wrote on the former Lakers’ guard. “Suder improved from beyond the arc in each of his college seasons, and if he’s able to find his footing again during his training camp stint with the Bulls, he should be able to easily outperform the unproductive Mallette in that setting.”
Suder will continue to fight for a roster spot during the Bulls’ training camp, but his hopes of making the NBA come after he won the 2025-26 MAC Player of the Year Award for Miami (OH) by way of putting up 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 31.1 minutes per game during this past collegiate season.
Suder went undrafted during the 2026 NBA Draft, but now has a spot in Chicago for the time being after his stint with the Lakers was cut short.
LA’s Recent Roster Changes Ahead Of Training Camp
While the Lakers’ decision to waive Suder came earlier in the summer and his signing with the Bulls came in late September, Los Angeles recently made several roster changes just before the start of training camp.
In the announcement of the team’s full training camp roster, Okereke made the list.
In addition to him, the Lakers signed William Kyle III and Cole Swider. Those two and Okereke will have a chance to make the 15-man roster, as is the case with Suder on the Bulls. However, it is much more likely that if the teams do want to keep them around, they’ll stay on two-way deals for the upcoming season.
For Los Angeles, Arthur Kaluma and Chris Manon are the other two-way players along with Okereke.
The Lakers also just cut ties with Meechie Johnson Jr. and Chase Ross, both of whom were fighting for a chance to participate at training camp.
Los Angeles could have kept Suder, but his slightly sub-par Summer League stint and the team’s depth in the backcourt always made him an unlikely name to stick around.
Regardless, as both the Lakers and Bulls set their training camp rosters, Suder will have a chance to make it to the NBA.
Cast-Off Lakers’ Rookie Set For Bigger Role, Joins Bulls Training Camp Roster