Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog

The Los Angeles Lakers have promoted Jordan Wilkes to Director of Player Development and Josh Wright to Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, and have hired Kristen Andrews as Manager of Nutrition and Wellness, and Adi Vase as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, it was announced today.

With the team since the 2013-14 season, Wilkes is responsible for assisting General Manager Rob Pelinka in the day-to-day operations of the team, focusing on the personal growth of the players on the roster, while providing resources and assisting in the development of life skills off the court and outside of basketball. The L.A. native and University of California, Berkeley graduate spent the last three seasons as a basketball operations assistant with the Lakers, managing player databases, scouting local college and NBA games, scheduling draft workouts and offseason activities, as well as directing Camp Lakers in the summers of 2015 and 2016.

Andrews joins the Lakers staff after spending the 2016-17 MLS season as the Sports Performance Dietitian for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Responsible for the team’s nutrition and wellness program, Andrews creates and implements nutrition support strategies to maximize player fitness, performance and recovery. A graduate of the University of Arkansas with a Master’s of Science from Cal State-Long Beach, Andrews also arranges all team meals throughout the season, both at home and on the road.

Vase and Wright round out Gunnar Peterson’s strength and conditioning staff. Most recently an Athletic Development Quality Assurance Assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, Vase also has prior experience with the Universities of Kentucky and Oregon. Wright has been promoted to his new position after joining the staff last year as a coaching assistant and was responsible for coaching-staff wellness throughout the year.

The Lakers will reportedly sign defensive-minded center Andrew Bogut. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

Free-agent center Andrew Bogut has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to agent David Bauman.

The deal is for a veterans minimum of $2.3 million, Bauman confirmed on Twitter. Sources told ESPN the deal is not fully guaranteed.

Bogut suffered a broken leg during his Cleveland Cavaliers debut in February and missed the rest of the season.

The Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Briante Weber today.

Weber (6-2, 165) appeared in 20 games with Golden State and Charlotte in 2016-17, averaging 3.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 10.3 minutes per game. In his NBA career, the Virginia Commonwealth University product has played in 27 games (four starts) for the Warriors, Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat, recording averages of 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Undrafted in 2015, Weber was a three-time Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year at VCU, where he finished his career ranked third in NCAA history for all-time steals.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward V.J. Beachem.

Beachem appeared in 36 games (all starts) for Notre Dame last season, averaging 14.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 34.2 minutes as a senior. Overall, the 6-foot-8 forward notched 9.2 points and 2.7 rebounds through 132 career games with the Fighting Irish.

Beachem most recently competed in four games for the Minnesota Timberwolves at the 2017 Las Vegas NBA Summer League.

The Los Angeles Lakers signed center Stephen Zimmerman today.

Zimmerman spent the 2016-17 season with the Orlando Magic and played in 19 games, averaging 1.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per game. Selected by Orlando in the second round (41st overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft, the 7-foot center spent much of the season with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League, where he tallied 13.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals in 21 games (all starts).

A native of Las Vegas, Zimmerman played one season at UNLV, notching 10.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 26 games (24 starts).

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center Thomas Bryant, it was announced today by General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Bryant, the 42nd overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft, acquired via trade with the Utah Jazz on draft night, averaged 12.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists in 34 games (all starts) for Indiana University last season.

In eight games played for the Lakers in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, Bryant notched 5.1 points (.667 FG%) and 3.3 rebounds in 13.4 minutes.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Alex Caruso to a two-way contract, it was announced today by General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Caruso spent the 2016-17 season with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League, notching 11.9 points, 5.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 50 games (46 starts). The College Station, TX, native played four seasons at Texas A&M (2012-16), earning All-SEC Second Team honors and was an SEC All-Defensive Team selection in 2015-16.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have up to two players under two-way contracts on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. As a two-way player, Caruso can spend up to 45 days with the Los Angeles Lakers, not including any time prior to the start of the South Bay Lakers’ training camp or after the conclusion of their G League season.

The 2017-18 season marks the first year NBA two-way contracts will be implemented, in which two-way players are paid a corresponding daily amount based on the number of days they play in each league. Only players with four or fewer years of NBA experience are eligible to sign two-way contracts, which can be a maximum of two seasons in length.