The Los Angeles Lakers have plenty of celebrities on the Summer League roster, including Bronnie James, Dalton Knecht and NCAA standout Eric Dixon. They will be joined by previous first round picks.
The Lakers in Los Angeles are not aiming to look at them during the summer league. Last year, Bronnie James was not the best player in the mini tournament, but was far the biggest star, but this year he and Dalton Knecht return to seven games split between California and Las Vegas.
Knecht and James will be joined by Eric Dixon, the leading NCAA scorer, and several other former college stars. Rookie Adou Thiero will not join the team as he will fight a knee injury.
Alongside Knecht, the only other first-round pick on the Lakers roster is Darius Buzzley, the 23rd overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Once a top college commit, Bazley worked for New Balance, spurring both Syracuse and the G-League by training independently during the seasons between draft and high school.
He was named 22nd by the Utah Jazz in 2019 and quickly traded with the Memphis Grizzlies and then the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he spent four and a half seasons after spending a short stint with the Phoenix Suns, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Jazz. He played in the Thunder and Brooklyn Net summer leagues.
In his NBA career, he averaged 8.9 points and 5.2 rebounds, shooting 41.4% off the floor.
He also plays in China and the G League and will likely return abroad if his summer league stints don’t work.
Most fans will see if Dixon can break the roster or if James and Knecht can showcase some improvements, but Buzley could potentially become one of the best players on the roster. After all, he is the most senior player on the Summer League team and joins Knecht and James as the only player drafted in their respective classes.
The Lakers will separate Summer League play against the Golden State Warriors on July 5th.
Last season, the Lakers had Jordan Goodwin, Trey Jemison III and Christian Coroco on two-way contracts. This summer, Jemison III and Dixon have already been signed. That means there’s only one place left.
The Lakers still have two open roster spots after signing Deandre Ayton and Jake Laravia, so although the summer league standouts could make a cut, it seems likely they’ll add a proven veteran with real-life experience.
As Buzley plays in 237 NBA games, he will help to strengthen the shallow frontcourt rotation to match the bill.
The Lakers aren’t the only team with a standard or two-way roster spot, so Buzley was able to wrestling a great summer league that also appears in contracts with another team.