Two More Names Go on the Books as Pelinka Eyes the Cut to…

By the Lakers Nightly Desk · Sunday, September 27

Camp opened with twenty-one names on the roster, and Saturday made two of them official when Meechie Johnson and Chase Ross each signed for the league minimum, $1,357,763. General manager Rob Pelinka still has to shed six bodies before the regular season, and he told Lakers Nation's Matthew Valento a trade remains on the table to get there.

Luka Doncic of the Lakers — Luka Doncic. Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Two Deals, Official

Johnson and Ross were already running with the roster on Exhibit 10 terms; Saturday's filings made the money real, $1,357,763 each, the rate set for players with fewer than two years of experience. Neither deal is guaranteed past a handful of games, which is the point of an Exhibit 10: camp bodies, insurance against injury, nothing more.

Pelinka Won't Rule Out a Trade

Twenty-one players do not fit on an opening-night roster capped at fifteen, and Pelinka told Lakers Nation's Matthew Valento he is open to solving that math with a trade rather than only cuts. He did not name a target or a piece going out, leaving the six-man gap as the open question heading into preseason.

Preseason Sets the Clock

The Lakers open exhibition play October 5 at Sacramento, then October 6 at Golden State, October 8 at home against the Kings on ESPN2, and October 13 against the Warriors again. Four preseason games are what Redick and Pelinka have to sort twenty-one into fifteen before the regular-season opener October 21 against Golden State on ESPN.

How many players are on the Lakers roster right now?

Twenty-one, after Meechie Johnson and Chase Ross signed league-minimum deals on September 26. NBA teams carry fifteen players once the regular season begins.

Did Rob Pelinka say the Lakers might make a trade before the season starts?

Yes. Pelinka told Lakers Nation's Matthew Valento he has not ruled out a trade to get the roster down to fifteen players.

By the Lakers Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.