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Lakers Nightly Desk · transactions · Saturday, September 19

Chase Ross Joins the Los Angeles Lakers

Free agentLos Angeles Lakers
Chase Ross
· 23 · rookie
The move
Joins the Lakers
official roster · Sep 19, 2026
2026-27 cap hit
Not on file yet
public salary data lags a signing by a day
Lakers payroll
$201.3M
in the tax · cap $165.0M · tax $200.4M
Roster
21 players
standard limit 15 + 3 two-way
By the Lakers Nightly Desk · 2 h ago

Chase Ross has joined the Los Angeles Lakers, per the club's official roster update on Saturday, Sept. 19. The 23-year-old rookie arrives from free agency with no contract yet on file and no injury report entry tied to the move.

The move

Chase Ross joins the Los Angeles Lakers, a move detected from the club's official roster on Saturday, Sept. 19. He arrives from free agency, having held no prior NBA roster spot. Ross is a 23-year-old rookie, and no position is listed for him yet. No injury report entry preceded this transaction, and no source has been logged ahead of the roster update. The move brings the Lakers to 21 players on the roster.

The money

Ross's contract is not on file yet; public salary data can lag a signing by a day, so his cap hit and contract length are not available. The Lakers carry a payroll of $201.3M across 16 contracts for 2026-27, which puts the club over the luxury tax. The league salary cap sits at $165.0M, the tax line at $200.4M, the first apron at $209.0M and the second apron at $221.7M. Where Ross's eventual charge lands within those thresholds is not announced.

The fit

Ross enters as a rookie with no NBA line from last season. The Lakers' rotation last season was led by Luka Dončić at 35.8 minutes and 33.5 points, Austin Reaves at 34.5 minutes and 23.3 points, and LeBron James at 33.2 minutes and 20.9 points, with Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Luke Kennard rounding out the minutes. Ross joins a roster now at 21 players, 15 on standard contracts plus three on two-way deals, without an established role yet in that group.

What is Chase Ross's contract with the Lakers?

It is not on file yet. Public salary data can lag a signing by a day.

What position does Chase Ross play?

No position is listed for him yet.

How does this move affect the Lakers' roster?

It brings the Lakers to 21 players on the roster, 15 on standard contracts plus three on two-way deals.

Was there an injury report tied to this move?

No. No injury report entry preceded the transaction, and no source has been logged.

By the Lakers Nightly Desk, from the data on this page, rewritten when the data changes. How the desks work.
No contract on file yet: public salary data usually catches up within a day.

Lakers rotation

tracker →
Luka Dončić35.8 min · 33.5 pts
Austin Reaves34.5 min · 23.3 pts
Walker Kessler30.8 min · 14.4 pts
Quentin Grimes29.4 min · 13.4 pts
Jake LaRavia25.1 min · 8.2 pts
Collin Sexton23.7 min · 15.4 pts

Moves are detected from the official rosters, so the mechanism (trade, signing, waiver claim, two-way conversion) comes from the linked report when there is one. Salary figures are cap hits from public salary data.