Sandro Mamukelashvili's $13 Million Deal Says the Lakers…

By the Lakers Nightly Desk · Monday, October 5

Sandro Mamukelashvili did not miss a game last season, logging all 80 for a Lakers team that finished 53-29. His three-point shot, not his position, is why the staff wrote him into one of the costliest deals on the roster.

Sandro Mamukelashvili of the Lakers — Sandro Mamukelashvili. Photo: Frenchieinportland, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Stretch Four's Job

Mamukelashvili enters his sixth season behind a crowded frontcourt now headlined by Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney at center, which pushes him toward power forward minutes off the bench. His value there is spacing: 3.7 three-point attempts a game last season at a 38.9 percent clip, numbers that let him share the floor with ball-handlers without clogging the lane. The pick-and-roll game Doncic runs rewards a partner who pulls his defender outside the arc, and Reaves needs the same kind of shooting beside him in the second unit.

A Career Year, Buried in a Timeshare

Every number from last season points up: 80 games played, a 52.3 percent mark from the field, 11.2 points a game and a 63.7 percent true shooting mark that ranks among the most efficient on the roster. His offensive rating of 114.9 and a plus-5.3 net rating say he helped a 53-29 team more than his 21.9 minutes suggest. The low usage, 18.1 percent, and modest rebounding and passing marks, 11.1 percent and 12.3 percent, confirm what he is: a finisher and shooter, not a creator.

The Price of Being Useful

Mamukelashvili is making $13.0 million this season on a deal that dips to $12.3 million next year, returns to $13.0 million in 2028-29, and carries a $13.7 million player option for 2029-30. That number now sits among the five largest contracts on a Lakers roster already past the luxury tax line, alongside Doncic, Reaves, Kessler and Grimes. He is not on the injury report, which matters on a frontcourt that has already seen Kessler limited to five games a year ago. Staying available is half of what the Lakers are paying for. What they need from him now is the same shot, delivered on more minutes than last season's bench role allowed.

What is Sandro Mamukelashvili's role with the Lakers this season?

He projects as a stretch four off the bench, spacing the floor alongside the starters while Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney handle center minutes.

How much money is Sandro Mamukelashvili making?

He is set to earn $13.0 million in 2026-27 on a contract that runs through 2028-29 before a $13.7 million player option in 2029-30.

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.