Until LeBron James makes a firm decision about his future, the Los Angeles Lakers' roster will necessarily be unfinished. But while they're waiting on The King, LA has holes to fill. NBA rules allow 15 players on the active roster, with three additional slots for Two-Way contracts. As of this writing, the Lakers would have one open roster spot even if LeBron returns. They also have just one of their Two-Way slots filled — by Trey Jemison.
That means that the players currently on the floor for the Lakers Summer League squad have a real opportunity to catch on.
Los Angeles already played three games at the California Classic Summer League, and kicked off their Vegas Summer League schedule with a loss to Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks Thursday night. Several players have made a strong impression — including Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, both of whom are already on the roster. But these three players who are still fighting for a contract have made strong arguments for themselves.
Cole Swider
Swider was first signed by the Lakers after going undrafted in 2022. The 6-foot-9 outside shooter played just seven games and has since bounced around, popping up with the Pistons, Raptors and Heat over the last two seasons. His appeal is strong shooting touch for his size, but he hasn't consistently made 3s in his brief NBA appearances. That hasn't been the case at Summer League, where he's averaging 20.2 points per game and has hit 16-of-30 from beyond the arc.
Sometimes it takes a while for a player like Swider to find their feet at the next level — learning to defend and offer enough ancillary contributions on offense to earnl enough minutes for their shooting to really pop. Swider is there. The one catch is that the Lakers already have several players in this mold, like Knecht and Rui Hachimura. But both players are often mentioned in trade rumors and if the Lakers think one or both could be moved during the season it might be worth locking in a backup plan now.
Darius Bazley
Bazley is one of the more experienced players on the roster, having appeared in 237 NBA games for the Thunder, Suns, 76ers and Jazz. However, he was just 19 years old when he was taken No. 23 in the 2019 NBA Draft and is still just 25. He's bounced around and struggled to catch on, but he's also a far different player than he was just a few years ago.
Bazley has been as impressive as anyone on the roster so far, averaging 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 blocks in just over 20 minutes per game. He's 6-foot-8 but has been playing mostly as a small ball center with this squad, something that actually could have some utility for the Lakers. He was always a tremendous athlete, but the knock on him was his inability to use those tool to consistently make impact plays. But he's blocking shots, defending multiple positions, shooting 56.7 percent from the field and has hit 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. He has definitely earned a serious look from the Lakers.
DJ Steward
Steward went undrafted in 2021 after one season at Duke and hasn't appeared in a single NBA game, despite catching multiple short-term contracts with teams like the Kings, Bulls and Celtics. He's been sharing the backcourt with Bronny James in Summer League and has looked like a pretty polished facilitator and creator.
Through four games, he's averaging 15.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists, shooting 56.7 percent from the field. He's slight — 6-foot-2 and just 165 pounds — and not a high-volume shooter, which could really limit his utility at the next level. But he's looked more ready than Bronny to contribute at the next level and could be worth a Two-Way deal as a deep backup point guard option, hedging against injuries for this veteran team.