Now that the preseason is officially over, the Los Angeles Lakers still have a few moves to make as they trim down their roster to the maximum 15 players. Even though he didn’t play in the preseason, it became pretty clear that Andrew Bogut had locked down the 15th spot.
This became official when the Lakers announced on their team site that they had waived Vander Blue, Briante Weber and Travis Wear, trimming their roster to 16 players, including Alex Caruso on his two-way deal:
“The Los Angeles Lakers have requested waivers on Vander Blue, Travis Wear and Briante Weber, it was announced today.
Blue played in five preseason games and averaged 3.4 points, while Weber notched 3.0 points, 1.7 assists and 1.7 rebounds in three games played.”
This comes as very little surprise as Blue and Weber had seen very minimal playing time during the preseason. Even though Blue had been a key player on the Lakers’ summer league team, he was unable to transfer that success over to the preseason.
Weber had a memorable move during Friday’s preseason finale, but also was ejected for some trash talking with Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan. Wear was just signed, but never really had a chance to make the roster.
The words of head coach Luke Walton had basically made it known that Bogut would be the final player on the Lakers’ roster. Bogut has had injury issues throughout his career and is coming off a fractured tibia last season.
However, Walton is comfortable with him due to their time together with the Golden State Warriors. Bogut hasn’t played this preseason due to a groin injury, but does expect to be ready for the season opener on Thursday.
Whether any of these players signs the Lakers’ second two-way contract remains to be seen. If they don’t it is anyone’s guess as to where they ultimately land.
