Originally published by LakersNation.com
With the start of the 2026-27 season just around the corner for the Los Angeles Lakers, one more roster move will need to be made by general manager Rob Pelinka. Currently, L.A. has 16 guaranteed contracts on their books and they need to cut a player before Opening Night against the Golden State Warriors to get it down to 15.
This type of roster crunch can often generate a more competitive nature heading into training camp as players fight for a spot, allowing them to prove their worth in preseason. Pelinka wants to see that process play out before rushing to any decisions on cuts, and also did not rule out the possibility of another trade.
“Yeah, so, the spirit of competition has been great, and to some extent, going from 16 guys to 15 guys, we have until Opening Night for the competition to sort of play out and see who the best 15 players are,” Pelinka said at his preseason press conference. “Behind that evaluation of who’s emerging in camp, there’s also consolidation trades that can still be looked at, trading two guys out, bringing one in. So there’s a number of ways that that could be addressed, and the back-end point of it will be before we play the Warriors. So the next month will kind of answer those questions.”
As Pelinka mentioned, the Lakers don’t need to get their roster down to 15 players until Opening Night, so they are in no rush to make a move. They can see how players perform during training camp and the preseason before coming to any decisions.
Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy are the three primary candidates fighting for that 15th roster spot. Unfortunately, Knecht may be on the outside looking in, but Pelinka is allowing a player like him to prove himself.
Preseason allows these backend bench players to play meaningful minutes against NBA-level talent and head coach JJ Redick presumably will have a say in this roster decision. As time passes, there will be a sense of who appears to be on the chopping block. And perhaps a player opens some eyes in other organizations with his play as well, leading to reignited trade talks to help with L.A.’s roster crunch.
Rob Pelinka compares upcoming Lakers season to ‘The Odyssey
It’s only a little over three weeks until the Lakers take the floor to begin their regular season, marking a new era for the purple and hold. It remains to be seen how this team will perform, but Pelinka compared this upcoming season to ‘The Odyssey,’ making a connection to a journey into the unknown for this Lakers team.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
With the start of the 2026-27 season just around the corner for the Los Angeles Lakers, one more roster move will need to be made by general manager Rob Pelinka. Currently, L.A. has 16 guaranteed contracts on their books and they need to cut a player before Opening Night against the Golden State Warriors to get it down to 15.
This type of roster crunch can often generate a more competitive nature heading into training camp as players fight for a spot, allowing them to prove their worth in preseason. Pelinka wants to see that process play out before rushing to any decisions on cuts, and also did not rule out the possibility of another trade.
“Yeah, so, the spirit of competition has been great, and to some extent, going from 16 guys to 15 guys, we have until Opening Night for the competition to sort of play out and see who the best 15 players are,” Pelinka said at his preseason press conference. “Behind that evaluation of who’s emerging in camp, there’s also consolidation trades that can still be looked at, trading two guys out, bringing one in. So there’s a number of ways that that could be addressed, and the back-end point of it will be before we play the Warriors. So the next month will kind of answer those questions.”
As Pelinka mentioned, the Lakers don’t need to get their roster down to 15 players until Opening Night, so they are in no rush to make a move. They can see how players perform during training camp and the preseason before coming to any decisions.
Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy are the three primary candidates fighting for that 15th roster spot. Unfortunately, Knecht may be on the outside looking in, but Pelinka is allowing a player like him to prove himself.
Preseason allows these backend bench players to play meaningful minutes against NBA-level talent and head coach JJ Redick presumably will have a say in this roster decision. As time passes, there will be a sense of who appears to be on the chopping block. And perhaps a player opens some eyes in other organizations with his play as well, leading to reignited trade talks to help with L.A.’s roster crunch.
Rob Pelinka compares upcoming Lakers season to ‘The Odyssey
It’s only a little over three weeks until the Lakers take the floor to begin their regular season, marking a new era for the purple and hold. It remains to be seen how this team will perform, but Pelinka compared this upcoming season to ‘The Odyssey,’ making a connection to a journey into the unknown for this Lakers team.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.