It looks like the two newest additions to the 2022-23 Lakers are both competing to join the team's regular season roster.
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors has been given further intel on the exact nature of the contracts for your latest Los Angeles Lakers, swingmen Matt Ryan and Dwayne Bacon.
It turns out the duo inked non-guaranteed training camp deals with L.A., and their agreements included Exhibit 9 clauses rather than the more standard Exhibit 10.
Where Exhibit 9 contracts differ from Exhibit 10 arrangements is fascinating. Exhibit 9 deals do not let teams eventually change terms of the agreement into two-way contracts or include language about paying out a $50,000 bonus should a player be waived and subsequently added to the team's NBAGL club for a period of 60 days or more.
Adams notes that players signed to training camp deals featuring Exhibit 9 clauses are unlikely to join a G League affiliate if waived. Instead, players like Bacon and Ryan are typically striving to nab an opportunity aboard an NBA club's standard 15-man roster.
The Lakers have 12 players currently signed to fully-guaranteed deals through the 2022-23 season. Four players are competing for as many as three spots on the team's standard roster: Ryan, Bacon, shooting guard Austin Reaves and power forward Wenyen Gabriel. Reaves's gig seems secure, as there's even talk of him serving as L.A.'s starting shooting guard ahead of the season. Due to league roster limits, Los Angeles will need to release at least one player by October 17th.
The 6'7" Ryan, an ace shooter at the G League level last year, appears to make the most sense as a fit -- should the Lakers feel he can contribute at the NBA level. During 30 NBAGL games split between the Grand Rapids Gold and the Maine Celtics (née Red Claws) last year, Ryan averaged 19.4 points a night on .469/.413/.860 shooting splits. He wasn't shy to let it fly from deep, having nailed that 41.3% of his triples on a whopping 9.4 attempts.
Bacon, an athletic slasher, has never been much of a long range shooter through four NBA seasons. Los Angeles could really, really use all the reliable floor spacing help it can get. The cheaper the better.
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