The Los Angeles Lakers still need to cut their roster down to the maximum of 15 players before the NBA’s deadline on Monday. Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. PST.
With the Lakers taking it down to the wire, the team is clearly exploring all its options, including a two-for-one trade, which might be the ideal way to finalize the roster with the best available talent.
Ahead of Monday’s deadline, the Lakers could be eyeing one player in particular who would fill a need in the frontcourt before the regular season gets underway for Los Angeles on Weds. Oct. 21.
Lakers Have ‘Strong Interest’ in Signing Moussa Cisse
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks may be on the verge of waiving center Moussa Cisse, which opens the door for the Lakers to add some insurance at the center position behind Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney.
If Cisse were to be waived Monday and then clear waivers Wednesday, I'm also told that the 76ers and Lakers would have strong interest in signing him to a two-way deal even though neither team currently has a two-way opening.
Cisse played in 38 games with the Mavericks last season, averaging 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, while shooting 57.4% from the field.
Solid numbers for a 23-year-old big man who played only 13.9 minutes per game off the bench.
Of course, the Lakers would have to waive a player on a two-way deal to bring in Cisse.
Lakers’ Odd Man Out Would Likely Be Arthur Kaluma or AK Okereke
Currently, Chris Manon, Arthur Kaluma and AK Okereke are the three players the Lakers have on the roster on two-way contracts.
Out of these three, it would likely come down to Kaluma and Okereke. The Lakers think highly of Manon, so it’s unlikely he’d be the player waived.
Manon is a talented guard that excels on the defensive end. He recently received high praise from head coach JJ Redick, who made it clear that the Lakers are “invested” in developing the 24-year-old scrappy perimeter defender.
"I really like Chris. We had him in for a draft workout. I think we maybe had him in for two draft workouts," Redick said of Manon. "Then he was with Golden State during the California Classic and really popped against us. So we started working that pretty much immediately with his agent because he wasn't on a two-way. So, we're invested in him and we're invested in his development, in his career. I thought he played really well against Sacramento. I don't think any of our guards played well against Golden State."
It will likely be a busy day for general manager Rob Pelinka, who will almost certainly be working the phones all the way up to the deadline in hopes of making one final move or two to put the best roster possible on the floor ahead of the season opener against the Golden State Warriors.
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