Lakers To Sign Arthur Kaluma To Two-Way Contract
The Lakers are signing Summer League standout Arthur Kaluma to a two-way contract, agents Todd Ramasar and Mike Simonetta tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Kaluma, 24, went undrafted in 2025 after playing for Creighton, Kansas State and Texas during his four-year college career. The 6’7″ forward averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks on .462/.359/.784 shooting splits in 33 games (29.3 minutes per contest) as a senior for the Longhorns in 2024/25.
Kaluma spent the 2025/26 campaign with the Lakers’ G League affiliate after signing an Exhibit 10 deal last year. He was waived by Los Angeles last September, which enabled him to earn a bonus with the South Bay Lakers (now called the Coachella Valley Lakers).
In 40 NBAGL games (24.4 MPG), Kaluma averaged 13.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.5 APG and 0.8 SPG on .552/.378/.838 shooting. In five games in Las Vegas over the past couple weeks, Kaluma helped the Lakers go 4-1 by averaging 18.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.8 APG in just 23.0 MPG. He posted a shooting line of .609/.500/.824 in a small sample size.
The Lakers will have to waive one of their current two-way players — Chris Manon, AK Okereke or Peter Suder — to officially sign Kaluma. For what it’s worth, Dan Woike of The Athletic noted earlier on Monday that Suder was available but didn’t play in Saturday’s Summer League semifinal loss to Golden State.
Lakers Rumors: Kuminga, Thybulle, Kaluma, Assistant GM Opening
Momentum has “stalled” on the Lakers‘ pursuit of free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic. Rumors connecting Kuminga to Los Angeles have been ongoing since late June, but Woike hears that the Lakers and Hawks are still far apart on terms of a potential deal and L.A. isn’t “overly motivated” to include significant draft assets in any of its sign-and-trade offers.
However, Woike cautions that a potential Kuminga deal isn’t dead because it’s still the “biggest upside play” remaining for the Lakers’ offseason. Cleveland also reportedly has interest in Kuminga, but Woike can envision the Lakers reemerging as a possibility if the market remains slow.
Kuminga became a free agent when Atlanta declined its $24.3MM team option for next season. No team has enough remaining cap space to make the kind of offer that Kuminga is seeking, so he may have to rely on a sign-and-trade. It’s not clear how much interest the Hawks have in re-signing him, especially after adding forward Luguentz Dort in a three-team trade on Sunday.
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Woike confirms a recent report from The Stein Line that L.A. has interest in free agent wing Matisse Thybulle. He notes that injuries are the main concern with Thybulle, who played just 45 games over the past two years, but adds that he was healthy at the end of last season and could provide a low-cost three-and-D option. The team is also hoping to add another big man, team sources tell Woike.
- The Lakers may have to move quickly to sign Arthur Kaluma to a two-way contract before another team does, Woike adds. The 6’7″ forward, who played for the team’s G League affiliate last season, was one of the top performers in Summer League, averaging 18.6 PPG while shooting 60.9% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc. Woike notes that current two-way players Chris Manon, AK Okereke and Peter Suder might be expendable, although Okereke impressed the coaching staff with his defense and shooting.
- Scouts in Las Vegas were wondering when president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka plans to name his second assistant general manager, per Woike. Rohan Ramadas was hired in May to run the team’s analytics department, and Pelinka said after the season ended that he also wants someone to oversee player development and scouting. The Lakers began conducting interviews for the position during the season, and league sources tell Woike that there’s external confusion about the process. He adds that Minnesota’s Steve Senior and Philadelphia’s Prosper Karangwa are believed to have turned down offers from L.A. to remain with their current teams.
Peter Suder Joins Lakers On Two-Way Deal
July 4: Suder’s two-way deal is official, per the NBA’s transaction log.
June 24: The Lakers have agreed to a two-way contract with Miami (Ohio)’s Peter Suder, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
The 6’5″ senior guard, who went undrafted, was named MAC Player of the Year after leading his team to a 31-0 regular season. He averaged 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 33 games while shooting 54.6% from the field and 42.1% from three-point range.
Suder, who played two years at Bellarmine before transferring to Miami, was ranked 81st on ESPN’s top 100 prospects list. The Lakers are among the teams he worked out for prior to the draft.
L.A. also reached a two-way agreement with AK Okereke following the conclusion of the second round.
Lakers Rumors: Quaintance, Reed, De Larrea, Smith, Prospects
Rival teams expect the Lakers to draft a center with the 25th overall pick, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, who reports in his latest Substack story that the team has been connected to Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance and UConn’s Tarris Reed.
Quaintance is ranked 22nd on ESPN’s big board, while Reed comes in at No. 33.
Quaintance was once a projected lottery pick, but some NBA teams are concerned with the status of his knee after he tore his ACL as a freshman with Arizona State in 2024/25, Fischer writes. The 6’9″ big man, who doesn’t turn 19 until next month, was limited to just four appearances with Kentucky in ’25/26.
It’s possible neither player will be on the board at No. 25. Fischer hears Reed has been linked to teams in the late teens, and a rival club could take a gamble on Quaintance’s upside if he falls into the 20s.
Here’s more draft-related chatter on the Lakers:
- Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times, who has also heard the chatter about the Lakers and Quaintance, points to Dailyn Swain and Isaiah Evans as a couple of “best available” possibilities if they fall to No. 25. Texas wing Swain is ranked 23rd on ESPN’s board, while Duke shooting guard Evans is at No. 25. In general, the team is looking for rim-running centers and three-and-D wings to complement Luka Doncic, Turner writes.
- According to Turner, the Lakers spent time in Spain scouting Sergio De Larrea, the 6’6″ guard who’s No. 30 on ESPN’s list. People familiar with the matter tell tell Turner that L.A. was impressed by Purdue’s Braden Smith when the team hosted him for a pre-draft workout. However, the diminutive point guard is considered a likely second-round pick (he’s 39th on ESPN’s board), so he may not be under serious consideration for the Lakers unless they trade back or acquire a second-rounder.
- The following prospects have worked out for the Lakers in recent weeks, league sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link): Skyy Clark (UCLA), Oscar Cluff (Purdue), Josh Dix (Creighton), Roddy Gayle (Michigan), Nate Johnson (Kansas State), Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue), Tamin Lipsey (Iowa St), Ebuka Okorie (Stanford), Reed of UConn, Kowacie Reeves (Georgia Tech), and Peter Suder (Miami OH). Okorie is the only projected first-rounder in that group, coming in at No. 24 on ESPN’s board.
Draft Notes: Flemings, Anderson, Pelicans, Guide
Houston point guard Kingston Flemings, widely projected to be a top-10 pick in next week’s draft, has only worked out for three teams so far, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman writes within his newest mock draft. Flemings has visited the Clippers, Bulls, and Mavericks.
The Bulls and Clippers have the fourth and fifth overall picks, respectively. The Mavs are lower in the lottery at No. 9 but the player they choose will have the added benefit of playing alongside a true franchise cornerstone in Cooper Flagg. While undersized, Flemings is a talented scorer who showed good off-ball ability playing in Houston’s talented program this season.
We have more notes on the draft:
- Texas Tech point guard Christian Anderson is another prospect looking to separate himself from the other guards, despite generally being ranked slightly lower than the top guard group. He has worked out for multiple teams with top-10 picks so far this summer, Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor reports in his own mock draft. Anderson is one of the better play-makers out of the pick-and-roll in the class and has a case for being the best shooter in the draft.
- The Pelicans held a pre-draft workout on Tuesday featuring Maliq Brown (Duke), Malik Dia (Ole Miss), Xaivian Lee (Florida), JJ Starling (Syracuse), and Peter Suder (Miami, Ohio), Will Guillory reports for The Athletic (Twitter link). Of the six prospects, Brown is the highest ranked, coming in at No. 54 on Jeremy Woo’s big board for ESPN. The Pelicans control the 58th overall pick in the draft.
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic released his 2026 draft guide on Monday, featuring rankings of his top 100 prospects as well as 60 in-depth player breakdowns. Within the detailed guide, he writes that AJ Dybantsa could easily become a top-10 player in the NBA and refers to Cameron Boozer as close to a can’t-fail prospect, noting that the only thing keeping Boozer from a No. 1 ranking in the class is that he profiles better as an elite second star on a team, rather than the primary engine.
Draft Notes: Lendeborg, Warriors, Wilson, Suder, Kayil
Former Michigan forward/center Yaxel Lendeborg worked out for the Warriors on Thursday and believes he’d be a great fit with Golden State, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Lendeborg is a projected late lottery pick and the Warriors hold the 11th overall selection.
“I would say, like five assists a game maybe to start off,” Lendeborg said. “A lot of defense, fast-break opportunities for me. Depending on if I’m here or anywhere else, my role will be a lot different. But if I was here, I’ll be more like a secondary ball-handler. Whenever Steph [Curry] is taken out of the game, I’ll be there to assist, maybe provide a little more offense or instant offense.”
In addition to the Warriors and Thunder (Nos. 12 and 17), Lendeborg has also worked out for the Heat (No. 13), Bucks (No. 10), Hornets (Nos. 14 and 18), and Mavericks (No. 9), and has upcoming workouts with the Clippers (No. 5) and Hawks (No. 8), Johnson notes.
“In a way, it kind of makes me envision myself playing on a team like this, Charlotte, the Heat, all those teams that I’m getting mocked to,” Lendeborg said. “It kind of gives me something to get attached to. I can’t get too attached, though. If I don’t get drafted by any of them, I don’t want to be upset. Either way, it’s nice to see and it’s a blessing to be part of this.”
Here’s more on the 2026 NBA draft:
- While North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson is viewed as a less-polished offensive player compared to fellow top prospects Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa, he expressed confidence in his shooting and passing ability at last month’s combine, as Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network writes. “People don’t think I can really shoot, which is kind of funny to me. I really work on it and I can shoot,” Wilson told reporters. “I didn’t have the best numbers this year, but it was an interesting situation because that’s not what I was asked to do at the college I was at. I was just doing what I needed to do to help us win. People that say I can’t shoot, I feel like that’s interesting, but I’ll prove it over time. It doesn’t really matter.”
- Peter Suder was considered a relatively unheralded prospect when he was invited to the combine, but NBA teams have grown familiar his game over the last couple months, per Grant Afseth of Ballislife.com. “I’ve done 17 (pre-draft) workouts so far and have five more through June 20,” Suder told Afseth. “One of the main things I’ve learned is that it’s your job now. That’s how it’s treated at the next level. It’s not really like recruiting in college. You go in, show what you can do, and then move on to the next workout. The main thing I’m working on right now is movement shooting and different types of catch-and-shoot situations. I’m just trying to perfect that skill for the next level.” The former Miami Redhawk, a 6’5″ guard, was named MAC Player of the Year as a senior last season and is ranked 93rd on ESPN’s big board.
- German guard Jack Kayil is keeping his name in the draft, agent Milan Nikolic confirmed to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Givony reported a month ago that the projected second-round pick planned to stay in the draft as an early entrant.
Raptors Notes: Barrett, Trade/FA Targets, Draft Workouts
RJ Barrett will be eligible for an extension this summer, but the Raptors may not be in a hurry to get a new deal in place, Eric Koreen of The Athletic states in his latest mailbag column. Barrett, who’s entering the final year of his current contract at $29.6MM, will remain extension-eligible through the start of next offseason, and Koreen expects general manager Bobby Webster to take a patient approach.
Koreen points out that Toronto is in a unique position with Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl and Brandon Ingram all earning large salaries, which potentially makes Barrett the team’s most attractive trade piece. That doesn’t mean the Raptors will be shopping Barrett, but he gives them some flexibility that would be wiped out by an extension.
Koreen also addresses the possibility that Barrett, who was born in Toronto, might be willing to take a discount to remain with his hometown team, which has been beneficial for his off-court income. Koreen suggests an offer of $130MM over four years, which is about $25MM below what Barrett is eligible to receive.
There’s more on the Raptors:
- A combination of Barrett and draft picks is probably the best trade offer Toronto can make for a roster upgrade this summer, Koreen states in the same piece. He notes that several of the big-name players considered to be available, such as Ja Morant, Zion Williamson and Domantas Sabonis, come with red flags that make them risky investments. Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III is Koreen’s favorite potential addition for the Raptors, but he would be much more expensive than other options. Koreen doesn’t believe the team should consider parting with Collin Murray-Boyles unless it’s to get a major star.
- In response to another question, Koreen identifies several players the Raptors could pursue to fill their need for shooting. In addition to Murphy, he lists Sam Hauser, Sam Merrill, Kel’el Ware, Bobby Portis, Isaiah Joe, Vit Krejci, Moses Moody, Max Christie and Malik Monk as trade targets. In free agency, Koreen points to Khris Middleton, Collin Sexton, Kevin Huerter, Luke Kennard, Simone Fontecchio, Gary Trent Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr., Landry Shamet and Keon Ellis. Koreen’s most likely scenario is that the team re-signs Sandro Mamukelashvili and tries to find more shooting through the draft and veteran’s minimum contracts.
- With picks No. 19 and 50, the Raptors’ pre-draft workouts so far have included Meleek Thomas, Bennett Stirtz, Zuby Ejiofor, Keyshawn Hall, Izaiyah Nelson, Peter Suder, Tyler Bilodeau, Michael Ajayi and Bruce Thornton, sources tell Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link).
Western Notes: Gafford, Queen, A. Green, Clippers
After battling a nagging right ankle sprain throughout the 2025/26 season, Mavericks center Daniel Gafford said on Friday that he’s taking his time to fully recover before resuming on-court work, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter video link).
“I’m getting there. The rehab is good. I’m staying consistent. I’m holding myself accountable to just take care of my body … I don’t want to rush anything,” Gafford said. “Whenever I get back on the court and do all the workouts, I want to be 100% healthy.”
Gafford was limited to 55 regular season appearances this season due to the injury, which he sustained on the first day of training camp last fall. He averaged 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game.
The 27-year-old big man was also asked for his early impressions of new president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and the changes he’s made to the organization so far (Twitter video link via Curtis).
“It is a business. I’m not necessarily surprised when it comes to some of the things that he’s done with the organization because I’m pretty sure he already had that in his back pocket when he got hired,” Gafford said. “I’m just sitting back and watching from afar. … I’ve yet to get the chance to sit down and talk with him, but he made sure he called me and we had a good conversation on the phone.”
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- Pelicans center Derik Queen reconnected with former teammate Jose Alvarado and asked Karl-Anthony Towns for advice in his role as a player correspondent at the NBA Finals on Wednesday, as Rashad Milligan of NOLA.com relays. “I mean, you already are superbly talented,” Towns said. “I’ve seen it firsthand. I think, for me, it’d be more about locking into the film consistently. Never leave the gym, be infatuated with the work. I know it’s weird, but JB [Jalen Brunson] has it on his shirt, but the magic really is in the work. The real gift about experience is that you’ll find ways to accomplish the same goal and get the stats with using way less energy. And with that, that’s where experience really kicks in, and it’s a beauty.”
- The Pelicans have made another addition to their front office, hiring Amanda Green as executive strategy and analytics, the team announced (via Twitter). Green is a longtime former Thunder executive who got her start in San Antonio and previously held a role in the league office, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. New Orleans hired Thomas Scott on Thursday to be the general manager of the team’s G League affiliate.
- Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd, Arizona guard Anthony Dell’Orso, Miami (OH) guard Peter Suder, Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton, Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and BYU center Keba Keita are among the players who have worked out for the Clippers this week, league sources tell Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Thorton is the top-ranked prospect in that group on ESPN’s big board, coming in at No. 52. Los Angeles currently controls the fifth, 36th and 52nd picks in this month’s draft.
Pre-Draft Workouts: Grizzlies, Warriors, Pistons, Keita
Arizona forward Koa Peat was among the prospects who worked out for the Grizzlies on Monday, league sources tell Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
Peat is a projected first-round pick, coming in at No. 25 on the latest big board from Jeremy Woo of ESPN and No. 18 on the big board of Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, though his stock has reportedly been falling due to concerns about his shooting.
The 19-year-old helped the Wildcats go 36-3 in 2025/26, winning the Big 12 tournament and advancing to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament before falling to eventual champion Michigan.
Malik Dia (Ole Miss), Jestin Porter (Clemson) and Latrell Wrightsell (Alabama) were also part of Monday’s workout, according to Cole. Memphis controls the third, 16th and 32nd picks in the 2026 draft.
Here are details on a few more pre-draft workouts from around the NBA:
- The Warriors are hosting six prospects — Obi Agbim of Baylor, Tucker DeVries of Indiana, Tamin Lipsey of Iowa State, AK Okereke of Vanderbilt, Peter Suder of Miami (Ohio) and Lamar Wilkerson of Indiana — for a workout on Monday, the team announced (via Twitter). Lipsey (No. 69) is the highest-ranked player of the six on ESPN’s board. Golden State holds the 11th and 54th picks in June’s draft.
- The Pistons held a pre-draft workout on Monday that included Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd, George Washington’s Rafael Castro, Kansas State’s Nate Johnson and Florida’s Xaivian Lee, reports Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Of the four, Castro is narrowly considered the best prospect (No. 73) by ESPN, with Boyd ranking just behind at 77th. Detroit has one pick — 21st overall — in the upcoming draft.
- Former BYU big man Keba Keita isn’t among ESPN’s top 100 prospects or Bleacher Report’s top 75, but he’s drawing a good deal of interest in the pre-draft process. Keita recently auditioned for the Jazz and has roughly 12 other workouts on tap, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says NBA clubs are “intrigued” by the Malian center’s “length and athleticism.” Utah only controls the second overall pick, but Keita could be a two-way or Exhibit 10 candidate if he goes undrafted.
Central Notes: Cavs, Mitchell, Suder, Pacers, Pistons
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman doesn’t think the roster needs major changes after his team got swept by New York in the conference finals, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“Everybody is aligned in where we want to get to,“ Altman said. ”We all know we need to dig deep to take that next step. I always say two things can be true. We hated the way it ended. We were disappointed with the way it ended. I think the reason for that is we have higher expectations. … We believe in the players that we have in house. It’s been a long road to get here. It’s been five years of sustained success, and we’re still doing this [gradually improving], but we have to figure out how we break through it one more time, and that’s going to be the most difficult step.”
How they make that step is up for discussion among the front office.
“Over the last five years, we’ve retooled this roster, added to this roster. We’ve looked internally. We’ve grown internally. We’re operating at a position of real strength in terms of our foundation,” he said. “And I think those discussions happen now. Do we have enough? Do we add around the edges? This is certainly not a place where we’re like, ‘We need to blow this up and start again.’ That’s certainly not where we’re at. But those discussions will happen. But certainly, internally right now, there’s more that we have that we can get to.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- In the last installment of his Andscape diary via Marc J. Spears, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell admits that getting swept was a difficult way to go out this season. “It was a very painful ending. To go out like that, you try to put on a smile and try to move past it,” he said. “It’ll take a little bit. The worst part about it is just the sweep. We had an opportunity, right? It was right there. I’m saying we go ahead and win the series. Whatever happens, happens. But when you have an opportunity, man, and you watch it go past, that’s killer. And at the end with the 35-, whatever it was, point loss. That s‑‑t, I don’t really know how else to describe it. But that’s one of the things. It don’t matter all the success we’ve had. Yeah, it’s great. But when you lose like that, it’s tough.”
- Peter Suder, who hails from Carmel, Ind., visited the Pacers‘ practice facility for a draft workout on Thursday. Suder averaged 14.8 points and 4.0 assists for Miami (Ohio) last season. “It’s definitely surreal,” Suder said to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “(Growing up) 30 minutes away from this facility, it’s just crazy. It’s always been a dream growing up, especially being an Indiana fan, a Pacers fan. All my friends, family back at home, they’re all rooting for me to go to the Pacers, so it’s just a surreal feeling.” Indiana currently doesn’t have a pick in the draft, but is doing its due diligence on the 2026 class.
- Kevin Huerter is the only significant Pistons free agent who is likely to leave, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press predicts. He believes the team will reach agreements with restricted free agent Jalen Duren, as well as unrestricted free agents Tobias Harris and Javonte Green, and will exercise its option on Daniss Jenkins‘ contract.