The Los Angeles Lakers are starting to round out their training camp roster, and the moves are coming with camp less than two weeks away.
Media day is set for Sept. 28, with the team taking the floor the next day. The preseason follows soon after, beginning Oct. 5, so general manager Rob Pelinka and the front office are moving quickly to get the roster into shape for camp and the five-game exhibition slate.
On Friday, the Lakers signed guards Meechie Johnson and Chase Ross to Exhibit 10 contracts and waived forward Anton Watson. Watson had been signed earlier this week on an Exhibit 10 deal, but his stay with the team was brief.
Watson is likely headed to the franchise’s G League affiliate, now known as the Coachella Valley Lakers after its summer move from El Segundo to Palm Springs.
Johnson, a University of South Carolina product, most recently played for the Miami Heat in Summer League Las Vegas. In that short run, he averaged 4.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
Ross already has some familiarity with the Lakers. The Marquette product was part of Los Angeles’ Summer League group in Las Vegas, where the team won all but one game and stood out as one of the stronger squads in the event. Ross averaged 2.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists over four games.
Those two additions likely won’t be the last ones. The Lakers can carry 21 players through camp and the preseason, and they’re expected to keep filling those spots as they build toward Oct. 5.
Los Angeles opens preseason on the road against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center, then works through a schedule that features two games against the Kings, two against the Golden State Warriors and one against the Denver Nuggets. The finale comes at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 16.
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