The Lakers are already laying out a path for Cameron Carr, and the message from the top is clear: the rookie isn’t being treated like a throw-in. In the team’s first press conference of the season, GM Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick spent plenty of time talking about the direction of the roster for the 2026-27 campaign, and Carr came up as one of the players they expect to develop.
Redick made it plain that the team wants to invest in the 21-year-old wing, who has not yet played a minute of NBA action. The rookie’s role may not be locked in yet, but the Lakers sound committed to helping him earn one.
“The guy wants to play, he wants to learn, he wants to compete,” said Redick in a recent press conference. “Where he was on our board, he was not 24th.
He was much higher. So, we feel very fortunate to get him and to be able to develop Cam as an NBA player.”
Carr brings size, athleticism, and a perimeter scoring package that could give the Lakers some answers in areas they need help. At Baylor last season, the 6’5″ wing put up 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. The production gives him a real case to carve out a spot, though the Lakers are making it clear that nothing will be handed to him.
Pelinka said Carr has already started to stand out in the team environment, including in a pickup run where he showed how he can complement Luka Doncic.
“You can see him forming before our eyes,” said Pelinka. “Even in the pickup game right behind this curtain today, he was on Luka’s team, and Luka was looking for him because he was knocking down corner threes. He had a couple back-cut lobs where Luka threw it up, and Cam came out of nowhere to finish.”
For now, Carr’s exact place in the rotation remains unsettled. Redick said on Thursday that he has already laid out to Carr and the rest of the roster what it will take to get on the floor, and the formula is bigger than one skill alone. The rookie will need to show he can make an impact in multiple ways before the minutes start coming.
The Lakers are also looking at the bigger picture with their young talent. Adou Thiero is making progress as well, and there’s a belief that both players can grow into important rotation pieces.
That kind of depth and flexibility matters to Los Angeles, especially with the roster built around players who fit together and are working toward the same goal. If Carr can provide the spacing and perimeter defense the Lakers want, he could become part of the answer at small forward and help push the team toward a top-three seed in the West.
In Other News...
Lakers Mourn The Voice That Defined Generations At Crypto.com Arena
For more than four decades at Crypto.com Arena, Lawrence Tanter was part of the Lakers experience in the same way the purple and gold uniforms and the playoff lights were part of it. The longtime public address announcer joined the franchise in the 1982-83 season, went on to work through multiple championships, and became one of those rare figures fans could identify by voice alone. He died at 76, and the Lakers confirmed the news while honoring the span of service that made him such a fixture around the organization.
Tanter had retired at the end of the 2025-26 season because of health concerns, but he stayed connected to the team as an advisor. Even in that role, his presence carried the weight of memory for a franchise that has changed in almost every way except the expectation that the arena would feel like home. For Lakers fans, his loss is bigger than the departure of a game-night voice. It is the end of an era that linked generations of winning basketball to a single, familiar sound. [Read more 🡒]
Kwame Brown Says One Lakers Trade Came With A Disturbing Cost
Kwame Browns final run with the Lakers has taken on a darker cast in hindsight, with the former No. 1 pick saying he was trying to stay on the floor while dealing with a badly damaged ankle and a troubling health issue that lingered for weeks. Brown said he was taking anti-inflammatory medication and playing through pain during a stretch when the Lakers were pushing forward, a period he now views as one where his body was paying the price for keeping up appearances.
Brown also said Kobe Bryant pushed him to keep playing, something he believes was tied to the teams larger plan as it moved toward a deal that sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies in February 2008. For the Lakers, the trade was part of a roster shift in that era, but Browns recollection adds a disturbing layer to it, suggesting the cost of staying available may have gone beyond basketball and into a serious health risk he is still unpacking years later. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Just Lost A Voice Fans Will Never Forget
For more than four decades, Lawrence Tanter was part of the soundtrack inside Lakers games, a familiar presence whose voice carried through the arena from the start of his run in 1982. The longtime public address announcer died at 76, closing the book on a tenure that made him one of the most recognizable figures around the franchise.
Tanter was known for his distinctive delivery and the memorable calls that helped define the in-arena experience for generations of Lakers fans. In the wake of his passing, the team and people around it have been paying tribute, a reminder that some voices become woven into a franchise's identity in ways that outlast the games themselves. [Read more 🡒]