The Los Angeles Lakers continue to improve their roster ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Despite last season’s third seed finish, the Los Angeles Lakers campaign was labelled as a failure due to their first round playoff exit.
The Lakers front office appears to have attacked as they were one of the most active teams during the offseason.
The addition of Deandre Ayton will help the Lakers deal with the biggest flaws on the roster. The organization still needs an elite backup centre and appears to have found it at Kyler Kelly.
Last season, the Dallas Mavericks had to become creative after a streak of unfortunate injuries. After all, MAV risked confiscating the game at some point in the season.
During that horrifying stretch, MAV relied on signing Bronnie James’ G-League teammate Kyler Kelly. Fast forward to ever, and the Lakers welcomed him as the backup centre behind Ayton.
Kelly has no extensive experience in the NBA, but the reaction to Mavs head coach Jason Kidd’s debut speaks volumes about the 28-year-old center.
“I thought up his activities and his stories. He was a vocalist. His voice can be heard on the floor just to get here. That’s a great sign for a newcomer,” Kidd said after Kelly’s debut.
Kelly played eight minutes during his debut, scoring one point while pulling down the Mavericks’ four rebounds against the Washington Wizards.
Despite supporting the team during tough stretches, the Mavericks abandoned Kelly in March 2025. He later signed with the Pelican of New Orleans.
However, he featured in just three games for the Pelican. Overall, he played 11 games last season, averaging 3.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.
As for his future, the Lakers only signed him on an exhibit 10 deal. That means that if he is impressed during NBA training camp, he will not win the team and roster this season.