Lakers lineup fine adjustment: signing two players to withdraw two players, waiting for the last two-way contract to be vacant

NBA teams will be busy finalizing the training camp roster and making final preparations for the regular season roster. For the Los Angeles Lakers, Media Day is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, with training camps starting right afterwards. The Lakers currently have a full 15-man roster, so most of their signing and sacking operations before training camp will be related to the Development League. The Lakers made a series of lineup adjustments on Sunday, signing Anton Watson and Knight Williams, and then sacked Eric Dixon and Tvian Jones.

According to previous reports, Eric Dixon was expected to win a two-way contract with the Lakers after the NBA draft, but the possibility is now slim. The player who led the national college basketball scoring list when he played for Villanova last season failed to participate in the summer league due to continuous injury recovery.

The Lakers currently occupy only two two-way contract places (third year big man Christian Kroko and rookie forward Chris Mannon), with one vacancies remaining. This means Watson or Williams is expected to compete for the last two-way contract seat in training camp. Both players are eligible to sign a two-way contract (NBA age is not more than four years).

Watson was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 54th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and signed a two-way contract. After being cut in March this year, he signed with the New York Knicks. He played nine games for the Knicks and shot 44.4% from the field.

Williams went to the training camp with the Utah Jazz after losing the 2022 draft, and did not officially sign with the Portland Trail Blazers to enter the NBA until the end of the 2022-23 season. He signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets before the 2023-24 season and was transferred to a standard contract at the end of last season, and was sacked by the Rockets this summer. He has played in 47 NBA games in the past two seasons, and his highlight performance has occurred during his time with the Trail Blazers - 5 games (four starts) averaged 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Although both players may become considering candidates for the Lakers' two-way contract, there is a higher probability that they will represent the South Bay Lakers in the Development League.