Lakers News

Lakers Add William Kyle III, Robbie Avila & Chase Ross On Exhibit 10 Contracts

Gabriel Arteaga
Gabriel Arteaga
9 Min Read

Originally published by LakersNation.com

After the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers immediately began scouring the undrafted free agent market looking for gems.

The Lakers were able to land both AK Okereke and Peter Suder on two-way contract. Now, they have added another prospect in William Kyle III out of Syracuse on an Exhibit 10 contract, which allows them to have him on the roster for Summer League and training camp before likely transitioning to their G League team if he doesn’t earn a better opportunity elsewhere, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN:

Kyle then took to social media himself to react to his new deal with the Lakers:

Kyle is a player the Lakers worked out in the pre-draft process and had reported interest in, so them landing the undrafted free agent doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

This is a homecoming of sorts for Kyle as he played at South Dakota State for two college seasons before playing one year at UCLA. He then finished up his collegiate career at Syracuse, where he had an impressive senior season averaging 8.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. That type of rim protection could get him some looks in the NBA despite not getting drafted.

The Lakers also added another big man on an Exhibit 10 deal with Robbie Avila out of Saint Louis, as well as guard Chase Ross out of Marquette, per Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com:

Avila played two years at Indiana State before finishing up at Saint Louis the last two years. While he lacks athleticism, he makes up for it with his offensive ability. In 35 games last season, Avila averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 49.7% from the field and 41% from 3-point range on 4.6 attempts per game.

Considering Kyle and Avila have different skillsets, they should complement each other well during Summer League and give the Lakers squad a nice tandem at the center position.

Meanwhile, Ross will give them some defense on the perimeter, although his outside shot was inconsistent during his four years at Marquette.

Lakers Summer League roster taking shape

The Lakers’ Summer League roster is starting to take shape as it is expected to have Kyle, Avila, Ross, Okereke and Suder. It should also have the team’s first-round draft pick Cameron Carr and potentially second-year wing Adou Thiero as well.

L.A. will likely sign more undrafted free agents as well as current NBA and G League players to fill out the roster.

If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.

After the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers immediately began scouring the undrafted free agent market looking for gems.

The Lakers were able to land both AK Okereke and Peter Suder on two-way contract. Now, they have added another prospect in William Kyle III out of Syracuse on an Exhibit 10 contract, which allows them to have him on the roster for Summer League and training camp before likely transitioning to their G League team if he doesn’t earn a better opportunity elsewhere, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN:

Kyle then took to social media himself to react to his new deal with the Lakers:

Kyle is a player the Lakers worked out in the pre-draft process and had reported interest in, so them landing the undrafted free agent doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

This is a homecoming of sorts for Kyle as he played at South Dakota State for two college seasons before playing one year at UCLA. He then finished up his collegiate career at Syracuse, where he had an impressive senior season averaging 8.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. That type of rim protection could get him some looks in the NBA despite not getting drafted.

The Lakers also added another big man on an Exhibit 10 deal with Robbie Avila out of Saint Louis, as well as guard Chase Ross out of Marquette, per Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com:

Avila played two years at Indiana State before finishing up at Saint Louis the last two years. While he lacks athleticism, he makes up for it with his offensive ability. In 35 games last season, Avila averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 49.7% from the field and 41% from 3-point range on 4.6 attempts per game.

Considering Kyle and Avila have different skillsets, they should complement each other well during Summer League and give the Lakers squad a nice tandem at the center position.

Meanwhile, Ross will give them some defense on the perimeter, although his outside shot was inconsistent during his four years at Marquette.

Lakers Summer League roster taking shape

The Lakers’ Summer League roster is starting to take shape as it is expected to have Kyle, Avila, Ross, Okereke and Suder. It should also have the team’s first-round draft pick Cameron Carr and potentially second-year wing Adou Thiero as well.

L.A. will likely sign more undrafted free agents as well as current NBA and G League players to fill out the roster.

If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.

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