The final roster construction is the main story of the day, with a 2pm Pacific Time deadline to get rosters down to the league maximum 15. The Lakers already made a move, granting Yi Jianlian his request by waiving him so he could explore alternatives.
With Yi moving on, it was assumed the final roster spot would come down to Thomas Robinson or Metta World Peace. It turns out that assumption may be wrong. From Tania Ganguli of the LA Times:
The Lakers final cut will be Anthony Brown, per source.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) October 24, 2016
I did not see this coming, honestly. Brown, though only making $874K this season, has a guaranteed salary. And while he has not gotten a lot of opportunities to play in the preseason, his skill set and potential to develop into the coveted “3-and-D” player is something I thought the Lakers would value and want to hold onto.
It seems, however, that with Brown not showing he would be able to take any minutes from Nick Young (and his redemption song) or Lou Williams on the wing, Brown became expendable. It should be noted, though, that if Brown clears waivers and, if he is open to it, he could become an “affiliate” player and go to the D-Fenders to play. The Lakers would not retain any “rights” to Brown — if another team called him up, the Lakers would have no way of blocking him for going — but having him “in-house” where the coaches could have regular access to him is worth noting.
As for what the Lakers do now, it would seem both Robinson and Metta would make the final roster. Looking big picture, this makes some sense — even if folks won’t want to hear the reasoning on Metta.
Starting with the latter, Luke has praised Metta all camp as being in excellent shape and we know he’s a locker room mentor. I know I noted earlier that the Lakers have a nice stable of veterans (and a young head coach), but it’s worth pointing out that none of those vets are guys who are necessarily vocal leaders. Metta is nothing if not vocal. He isn’t necessarily the “get in your face” guy of his younger days, but he will pull you to the side and get in your ear about what he’s seeing and offer instruction/advice. I’m not saying the other veterans won’t do that, but if there’s any doubt they can be that type of resource, the prospect of keeping Metta increases.
As for Robinson, we know he can play at this level, even if only as a reserve. He’s a skilled rebounder on both ends and can finish inside as a dive man or on drop-off passes. He is a bit redundant with Tarik Black, but that might actually be part of the rationale for keeping him. Black has a two year contract worth almost $13 million, but the 2nd year of that deal is not guaranteed. If the Lakers were actually interested in making a trade and needed some salary ballast without a future dollar commitment, Black’s contract could work in that type of deal. Of course, that is just me speculating, but it’s worth remembering.
Of course, there is still a chance — even if only a small one — that one of Metta/Robinson still gets cut. The Lakers have long liked to keep their roster at 14 players for flexibility in trades and for waivers. I don’t think that will happen, but I also didn’t foresee Yi asking to be cut or Anthony Brown getting waived. So, yeah. We’re just going to have to see how things play out.
basquiatball says
I’m not sure Zubac is ready to be on the active roster yet so it makes sense to invest in a back-up big. Even if the team can go small they’d probably rather be able to choose when.
jvilomar says
Thanks Darius for the ever wellcome writting!
I am a little sad about AB been cut, really I liked a lot the kid game, but in the end, it is what it is.
Hope TRob could see any playing action and maybe keep doing well.
Hope all the good things to AB.
#BleedPurpleAndGold
the other Stephen says
=
Vasheed says
I had thought Young’s play would possibly make Brown expendable. I’m a bit disappointed though as I really liked what Brown could become.
Clay Bertrand says
Did Ronnie Price just get cut from OKC with a guaranteed $5 Million contract!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!!?!!!!!!
Damn!!!! That’s some good money for a few weeks of basketball PRACTICE!!!!!!!
Vasheed says
Clay Bertrand
Confirmed. Really wow.
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/243754/Thunder-Waive-Mitch-McGary-Ronnie-Price-To-Keep-Semaj-Christon
Clay Bertrand says
Vasheed Clay Bertrand
Nice payday for Ronnie!!! That’s a big dead money hit to take…..
Vasheed says
Clay Bertrand Vasheed
It’s 2.5 million this year and they can spread next year’s 2.5 million over 3 years so the cap hit isn’t that hard. Still they are shelling out a lot of cash to keep a late second round rookie. Guess he did really well in camp.
Vasheed says
“Starting with the latter, Luke has praised Metta all camp as being in excellent shape and we know he’s a locker room mentor. I know I noted earlier that the Lakers have a nice stable of veterans (and a young head coach), but it’s worth pointing out that none of those vets are guys who are necessarily vocal leaders. Metta is nothing if not vocal. He isn’t necessarily the “get in your face” guy of his younger days, but he will pull you to the side and get in your ear about what he’s seeing and offer instruction/advice. I’m not saying the other veterans won’t do that, but if there’s any doubt they can be that type of resource, the prospect of keeping Metta increases.”
This reasoning actually makes pretty good sense considering neither Brown or Metta would be likely to play that much.
Clay Bertrand says
As Darius has surmised, while he seemed to perform reasonably well when he got into preseason games, we have to assume that Anthony had every opportunity to make his mark in practices etc. and that the coaches just didn’t see enough. His position and his presumed skill set were certainly needs so he must have really not impressed. Nick really seized the day and that really made AB the odd man out.
That said, I’d prefer we continue to add assets with upside rather than keep giving Metta the last roster spot every year. Just because he WANTS TO PLAY 3 more years, doesn’t mean he CAN.
Steve Blake just signed to play in Australia, Andre Miller is unsigned.
I like Metta. I like him as a mentor. But sometimes, life just makes decisions FOR YOU. Fighters have to have their corner men throw in the towel for them because their hearts won’t let them quit. Guys all think they can still play in the league. Just look at Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Carlos Boozer and Ray Allen who have all attempted or teased with notions of NBA returns. I’m sure Blake would rather have caught on in the NBA. Same for Andre Miller. Just because a guy THINKS he can play or REALLY WANTS TO doesn’t make him able. Guaranteed Metta would not be signed by any other NBA team at this stage of his uhhhh career.
Would another younger player with upside just be too much to handle for this team?? I don’t think so.
Alas though, it’s not a move of huge consequence and should not impact the goals and direction of the team in any way. Its still going to be a great year to watch even if this team has more Chaperones than a Catholic School dance!!!!
Clay Bertrand says
Archie Griffin, RJ Hunter, Jordan Adams, all available former 1st round picks……
Joel_ says
Vasheed Clay Bertrand The perplexing thing is, Price has been around for ages so it’s not like they were taking a shot in the dark here. I’m actually more amazed to learn that someone gave him a guaranteed $5 million over 2 years in the first place. Bizarre.
Clay Bertrand says
Joel_ Vasheed Clay Bertrand
According to Byron Scott, OKC should have given him $10 million………… : )
Clay Bertrand says
dog town
Perhaps the obvious backcourt possibilities with Ingram made the position ever more crowded. Luke has alluded their being an abundance of 2-3s in discussing why AB was let go. Ingram is going to blossom into whatever he becomes and with his comfort in ball handling plus his size he could well be more Giannis Antetokounmpo than Kevin Durant.
Jokr says
I’m disappointed. I really don’t believe Brown was given a chance to succeed. Nick and Lou took his minutes.
I also don’t get why they kept MWP. Imo, its foolish to keep somebody just because he is a vocal leader. I assume part of the reason of getting Mozgov and Deng is because they are veterans. Do the Lakers really need more vets? I don’t believe so.
new rr says
Clay Bertrand
I think you mean Archie Goodwin…not the guy who won the Heisman for Ohio State back-to-back in the 1970s. 😉
HaleHailHell says
2s: Clarkson, Williams, Russell, Ingram, Young
3s: Young, Ingram, Deng
= No time for Brown w/o his 3 falling consistently.
Let him get his game together and that’s only going to come (if it comes at all) with court time. Good luck to him.
Clay Bertrand says
new rr Clay Bertrand
YOU are Correct sir! Too many of these ARCHIES runnin around these days!!!! Lol…..
Now if Archie Bunker gets waived, THAT’LL be a story!!!! ; )
Mid Wilshire says
I think AB might have been a victim of Nick Young’s resurgence.
In any event, we’re talking about the 15th spot on a 15-player team. So…whoever was to have been chosen to remain with the team would not have been suiting up much. I personally think that AB may head overseas. Perhaps he can develop his game there.
Meanwhile, I’m very pleased about T Robinson. I’ve already noted several times that he has the potential to be a real contributor. And he’s still young. So, in that sense he actually seems to fit. If (God forbid) there’s an injury or two, the Lakers should show no hesitance in calling on him. He has a limited game offensively. But he’s a rebounding demon. Don’t be surprised if he ends up making a bit of a contribution this year.
Finally, good luck to Anthony Brown. He seems like a decent guy. I wish him well.
_Craig W says
Ultimately I think Ingram will be able to play 4 of the 5 positions, like Magic (no Magic didn’t play center effectively – except for one game). Because his ball handling is being expanded so quickly, he will become a Swiss-Army Knife player in his first year, IMO. With Young’s improvement, this really left no place for A Brown to accomplish anything. The Lakers have an incredibly flexible lineup. Now to see specific specialty skills develop.
I disagree with those who downplay WP’s value to the team. Our veterans are mostly new to the Lakers – except for Young. They were brought in to mentor specific positions. There is no old Laker hand to mentor the team as a group. Luke could accomplish this, but he is the head coach. Brian Shaw might, but he has to mentor Luke. This leaves a gap for the team and WP fills this spot admirably.
KevTheBold says
Though I was never high on Brown, and am not surprised that he was cut, I was caught off guard that Nick was the reason.
I personally believe, now that Nick has escaped the blade, that he will relax and return to his old swaggy tendencies.
As for Metta, I read a report that they offered him a gig on the coaching staff, so I wonder what if he turned it down, or they changed their minds?
Clay Bertrand says
Luke commented today that after seeing Thomas Robinson work first in informal pick up games this summer and then ultimately throughout camp, he was shocked that he hasn’t stuck on any NBA roster and has bounced around so much.
When looking at his career thus far, it seems that he has had the misfortune of playing for ONLY teams in major disarray or transition if not outright mismanagement. Only his time of any stability was the season and a half he spent in Portland. This leads me to think that he hasn’t been given a full opportunity to be himself as a player and carve out a real role of any kind. The flip side of that is that he perhaps hasn’t shown he can be a regular contributor at this level and has been deemed expendable.
I just have gut feeling in the right environment, with some stability and coaching he can have a role even if his offensive game is quite raw and limited. He has always been a high motor player but with proper instruction and in a culture like Luke is establishing, he could really flourish.
He’s the kind of player who you really want to pull for. I’m glad he made the roster because it appeared from the games that he earned it. He has persevered through some tough times as well.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7207167/ncb-kansas-jayhawks-center-thomas-robinson-used-basketball-help-tragedy-espn-magazine
ED 10 says
I had thought that AB was on the bubble because his play had not really progressed. Robinson seems determined to stick long term this time, and I wish him well. If he was only an average shooter,he has the athleticism and motor to earn minutes and a big contract .
matt24 says
was there any player selected after anthony brown in last years draft that is good?
Mid Wilshire says
matt24 Great question.
You’re right. There were no Jordan Clarksons in the 2015 NBA Draft.
matt24 says
I wonder how hard it was for the coaches to convince kupcheck or whoever, that it’s ok to waive a 2nd round pick after one year, this action is uncharacteristic of the lakers who usually hold on to these types of players too long.
Darius Soriano says
Norman Powell is good, I think.
_Craig W says
matt24 I think it is pretty clear that AB was let go because he didn’t show a measurable gain in his skill set between this year and last. The team saw him in practice every day and we fans saw him in games. There wasn’t a lot of progress that we saw and, if that was also true in practice, the drafting of Ingram, signing of Deng, and emergence of Nick Young really made his presence a non-issue.