Lakers reward breakout star with new contract

The Los Angeles Lakers have reshaped their roster this offseason, and the team made another addition on Monday with the signing of Arthur Kaluma following a strong showing during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, as per Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Lakers’ signing of Arthur Kaluma is a for one of their two-way contracts, meaning the team will need to open up a roster spot to complete the deal. Prior to the agreement, the Lakers had all three of their two-way contracts filled with second-year guard Chris Mañon and rookies Peter Suder and AK Okereke.

One of those three players will need to be waived to make room for Kaluma. If it’s any indication, Suder was the only one of the trio that did not play during the Lakers’ final Summer League game.

Kaluma was one of the team’s biggest standouts during their summer run in Vegas as he made a strong case to be rewarded with a roster spot. For Lakers’ Summer League coach Ty Abbott, Kaluma’s ability to adapt to a variety of roles, and do so while still making an impact, was the biggest takeaway.

“He showed a ton of versatility and he was steady throughout the whole thing. Just consistency, shot-making, defensive ability. He was a guy that did a lot of things for us. His role kind of changed as the summer league went on,” Abbott mentioned to ClutchPoints following the Lakers’ final game in Vegas. “He was doing a lot without having any actions run for him and he had effort offense, the crashing and running and transition and getting deflections and playing.”

Kaluma played in seven total Summer League games with the Lakers across the California Classic and Las Vegas. He averaged 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 55.1 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from the 3-point line and 79.2 percent from the free-throw line.

His breakout game came against the Dallas Mavericks summer squad when he exploded for 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-10 from the 3-point line. He also added five rebounds and was a perfect 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. As the summer progressed, Abbott started making Kaluma more of a focal point of the offense.

“[He was] turning defense to offense, and then we started running things for him. He continued to just excel,” Abbott said. “He had a good year in the G League, and I’m not taking anything away from that, but what he did this summer, it’s commendable. He did a really good job this summer, really good job.”

Kaluma was already familiar with the Lakers’ system having played this past season with their G League affiliate in South Bay. After going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, he was brought in on a training camp deal.  Kaluma played a key role in South Bay’s record-setting season, including their run to the G League Western Conference Finals.

He appeared in a total of 40 games with South Bay, averaging 13.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from 3-point range.

As part of his two-way contract, Kaluma will spend plenty of time with the rebranded Coachella Valley Lakers as he will be limited to only 50 NBA games during the season.