Los Angeles Lakers training camp starts September 28, and the Lakers will be forced to cut at least two of the players on their roster right now.
Who will it be?
The NBA allows for 15 spots on every team’s roster. The Lakers have 11 guaranteed contracts next season with (get ready for it) Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Nick Young, Chris Kaman, Jordan Farmar, Wesley Johnson, Paul Gasol, Jodie Meeks, Robert Sacre and Jordan Hill. Shawne Williams also reportedly has a partially guaranteed deal. So that leaves four players to compete for the three available spots.
The Lakers signed Elias Harris, Marcus Landry, Xavier Henry and Ryan Kelly to non-guaranteed contracts, meaning they have to prove themselves during training camp in order to secure one of those three roster spots.
My guess is that, alas, Ryan Kelly will be cut.
If you read my column on www.RantSports.com you know I’m no fan of Landry, Harris or Henry. But compared to Kelly these three may look more promising to the Lakers.
Kelly is still struggling to recover from his broken foot, for which he underwent surgery. According to sources the Lakers have already spoken out about their disappointment in Kelly’s performance.
The Lakers drafted Kelly, the former Duke forward, 48th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. He missed all of this year’s Summer League, and my guess is he’ll serve as little more than a body to practice with at the training camp.
Nevertheless, I wish Kelly and all of the Lakers team a successful and healthy training camp.
Lucas Rubio is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @PlayerzLeague.