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Lakers Adding Christian Koloko, Chris Manon On Two-Way Deals

July 21st, 2025 at 1:38pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers are filling two of their three two-way slots by signing Christian Koloko and Chris Manon, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

L.A. made Koloko a restricted free agent in June when the team gave him a qualifying offer. There was an expectation he’d return to the Lakers, but he drew outside interest as well, tweets Charania.

The 7’1″ center from Cameroon showed promise as a rookie with Toronto in 2022/23 after being selected No. 33 overall in the 2022 draft, but his career was sidetracked by a blood clot issue which sidelined him for the entire 2023/24 season. He was medically cleared to continue playing last fall and wound up with the Lakers on a two-way contract.

Koloko made 37 appearances with the Lakers last season, averaging 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per contest. He also played in 12 G League games with the Lakers’ affiliate (South Bay), averaging 14.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG and 3.3 BPG in 29.6 MPG.

The 25-year-old also made five Summer League appearances in Las Vegas, averaging 7.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG and 2.6 BPG in 17.5 MPG.

Manon, a 6’5″ guard/forward, went undrafted out of Vanderbilt last month. He played for the Warriors in both the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, Charania notes.

Manon thrived at creating turnovers in his four-year college career, the first three of which he spent with Cornell. He posted career averages of 9.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG and 2.0 SPG on .535/.304/.728 shooting in just 19.6 MPG.

The 23-year-old wing made seven total Summer League appearances for Golden State (17.1 MPG), per RealGM, averaging 9.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.6 SPG and 1.4 BPG, with a shooting line of .442/.286/.676.

All three of the Lakers’ two-way spots will be filled once the deals for Koloko and Manon are official, with center Trey Jemison currently the third player on a two-way contract.

The Lakers reportedly agreed to a two-way deal with former Villanova forward Eric Dixon shortly after he went undrafted in June. It’s unclear what will happen with Dixon now that all three spots are occupied, but it’s worth noting that two-way contracts are non-guaranteed and don’t count against the salary cap, so further changes are certainly possible.

Assuming L.A. eventually carries a full 15-man standard roster (the team may open the season with 14), both Koloko and Manon can be active for up to 50 games next season. Each player will earn $636,435 in ’25/26.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Randle, Jazz Draft, Trail Blazers Workouts

May 27th, 2025 at 9:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Edwards scored just 16 points in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday. However, the Timberwolves superstar believes he played the game the way it’s supposed to be played.

“I don’t look at it like I struggled, or (Julius Randle) struggled,” Edwards said. “They just, they had a good game plan, making us get off the ball. Especially for me, man. They were super in the gaps, I made the right play all night.”

Edwards only attempted 13 shots and made just one three-pointer.

“It’s an urge that I want to get the ball in the rim, put it up there,” Edwards said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “But you don’t want to take bad shots and get your team out of rhythm. So I was just playing the game the right way, man.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Randle took just seven shots and made only one. He was disappointed in himself that he wasn’t more assertive, he told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I’ve got to figure out a way to get myself in position to be more aggressive, rather than just standing, spectating or trying to crash the glass,” he said. “Or I can just find other little things to do.”
The Jazz possess the No. 5 and 21 picks in the first round and pair of second-rounders in next month’s draft. Multiple league sources indicated to the Deseret News’ Sarah Todd that the front office is willing to hear offers and make deals on any of those draft picks. However, considering it’s been over a decade since Utah had a top-five selection, Todd believes it’s likely that the Jazz will retain the No. 5 pick.
Zach Hicks (Penn State), Chris Manon (Vanderbilt), Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M), Caleb Love (Arizona), Zack Austin (Pittsburgh) and Money Williams (Montana) worked out for the Trail Blazers on Tuesday, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report tweets. That group is comprised of players trying to earn second-round consideration.