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The Marquee · Morning

The Roster Shrinks as the Clock Hits Zero

Two more names leave camp as the Lakers trim toward Tuesday's opener against the Warriors.

Austin Reaves19 points on 5-of-11 shooting, minus-20 in the preseason finale loss to Denver
By the Lakers Nightly Desk · Sunday, October 18

The preseason is over and so, suddenly, is the guest list. Niwa Tait-Jones and Rafael Castro both left the roster on Oct. 18, five days before Los Angeles opens the regular season at home against the Warriors.

Austin Reaves of the Lakers
Austin Reaves. Photo: ReaganHoang10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Thinner by Two

Camp bodies are coming off the roster now, not adding to it. Tait-Jones and Castro both exit the same day, part of the churn that saw Jahmir Young join and leave within 24 hours earlier this month and Cole Swider depart Oct. 15. A hoopsrumors headline Oct. 17 said the Lakers cut two players without naming them; Tait-Jones and Castro fit that description a day later.

Four Names, One Date

Jarred Vanderbilt, Adou Thiero, Cameron Carr and Collin Sexton all carry an estimated return of Oct. 21, the same night the Warriors visit for the opener. Sexton's case has run longest: day-to-day since Oct. 5, the issue specified as a right lower leg problem as of Oct. 16, with no clearance logged yet.

Closing a Rough Stretch

The preseason ended 2-3, with back-to-back losses to the Warriors and Nuggets to close it out. Reaves led the Nuggets game at 19 points but finished minus-20; Luka Doncic added 15 in just 19 minutes. The Lakers' payroll sits at $201.3 million, above the $200.4 million luxury tax line, a number that will not move much as the real games begin.

Are the Lakers healthy for opening night?

Not fully. Vanderbilt, Thiero, Carr and Sexton are all listed day-to-day, with the first three targeting an Oct. 21 return and Sexton's right lower leg issue still unresolved.

What was the Lakers' preseason record?

Los Angeles finished the preseason 2-3, closing with consecutive losses to the Warriors (89-101) and the Nuggets (106-121).

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.

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