Two More Camp Bodies, and Pelinka Builds an Office to Match…

By the Lakers Nightly Desk · Monday, September 28

Training camp is four days old and the Lakers are still adding bodies, not subtracting them. Two Exhibit 10 signings landed Sunday while Rob Pelinka described a front office rebuilt from the ground up, evidence a franchise still at 0-0 is spending its offseason on infrastructure as much as its roster.

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

Camp Adds Depth

The Lakers opened training camp this week, and the roster kept moving instead of settling. Daniel Starkand reported Sunday that the club signed forward William Kyle III and forward Cole Swider to Exhibit 10 contracts, names that will fight for spots in an offseason already crowded with them.

Building the Front Office

Jacob Rude reported for the team's SB Nation outlet that general manager Rob Pelinka said the front office has added more than fifteen staffers since spring, with plans to bring in still more scouts. The hiring spree follows meetings Pelinka held with new owners Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner, who bought the club's controlling stake in August for a reported $12.5 billion, a sign the infrastructure around the roster is scaling with the investment.

Tax-Line Math

None of it comes cheap. Payroll sits at $204.0 million, already above the $200.4 million luxury tax line, with $49.8 million committed to Doncic, $41.2 million to Reaves and $30.2 million to Walker Kessler forming the core of the bill. Draft capital is thin to match: the 2027 first is protected to Memphis and the 2029 first is owed outright to Dallas, the price already paid for the roster Redick and Pelinka are now staffing up to support.

When do the Lakers play again?

Preseason opens October 5 at Sacramento, with the regular-season opener set for October 21 against the Warriors on ESPN.

Has the roster changed recently?

Yes. The Lakers added forwards William Kyle III and Cole Swider on Exhibit 10 contracts as camp opened this week.

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.