The Lakers lost a major piece of their backcourt when Marcus Smart left for the Houston Rockets in NBA free agency, and that hit is felt most on the defensive end. Smart had been the team’s best defender and, when healthy during the 2025-26 campaign, one of its most important voices in the locker room.
But Los Angeles may already have a young guard making noise in that same lane. Chris Manon turned heads in the final game of the California Classic, then doubled down on that momentum when he was asked which players he sees himself in. His answer: Alex Caruso and Jrue Holiday.
Asked Lakers two-way Chris Mañon what players he compares himself to:“Alex Caruso, Jrue Holiday. All these different guys that are pests on the ball and off the ball” pic.twitter.com/YwYoWOGjbd
That’s the kind of comparison that immediately grabs attention. If Manon can come anywhere close to the impact Caruso and Holiday have made, the Lakers may have found a real development piece. They need a backcourt player who can affect the game on both ends, and Manon has become one of the more intriguing names to watch as Summer League in Las Vegas gets underway this weekend.
This is the second straight year Manon has been on the Lakers’ Summer League roster, and his California Classic showing helps explain why the team brought him back on another two-way contract. He’s joined on two-way deals by AK Okereke and Peter Suder, while first-round pick Cameron Carr is also part of the group that will be under the microscope at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Lakers will play at least five games in Las Vegas, beginning with the matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder on July 10. Four games are already on the schedule, and the fifth will depend on each team’s winning percentage after those first four.
Manon’s numbers in the California Classic were strong across the board. In three games, the Vanderbilt product averaged 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 78.9 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from three.
He helped the Lakers win two of those games and clearly made an impression on fans, just as Carr did in the Bay Area.
There’s still work to do. Manon needs to clean up his foul trouble on defense and improve at the free-throw line, where he shot 69.2 percent. Even so, the upside is obvious, and it gives JJ Redick and the Lakers’ staff something to work with.
The 24-year-old spent most of last season with the then-South Bay Lakers, now the Coachella Valley Lakers, and his defensive impact showed up there too. He finished second in G League Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned G League All-Defensive Team honors.
Carr also put together a solid California Classic, averaging 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 42.1 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from deep. The No. 24 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft missed the second half of the final game because of a toenail issue, though the injury is not considered serious.
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