Lakers: Which 10-Day Contracts Should LA Renew?

With several Lakers poised to return from COVID-19 protocols, LA will face an eventual roster crunch.

Your Los Angeles Lakers are reeling. Losers of five straight games, the Lakers have fallen to a 16-18 record and face an intimidating schedule once the NBA calendar rolls over to 2022. 

LA is also still without six players as of this writing, including All-Star big man Anthony Davis and starting shooting guard Avery Bradley. Bradley has recently cleared the league's coronavirus health and safety protocols and is working on his conditioning, so our fingers are crossed he returns sooner rather than later. The same extends to the three Lakers still in the NBA's COVID-19 protocols.

Of course, the club was granted some relief from its various player absences when it began adding new players via 10-day hardship exception contracts. There are currently four new LA players on these deals.

The Lakers have 13 players inked to guaranteed contracts, two fairly essentially role players signed to non-guaranteed deals who seem likely to see those contracts guaranteed ASAP, and two two-way roster slots. But the reality of this team, as currently constructed, is that it is a ways away from competing for a championship. Yes, it feels unlikely that LA would have lost these past five straight games had Anthony Davis been available, but these recent defeats have been pretty deflating, nevertheless.

Los Angeles has a few realistic options. The team could waive a player on a guaranteed veteran's minimum deal who has proven to be a bust, a la Rajon Rondo, Kent Bazemore or DeAndre Jordan. LA could also ditch one or both of its two-way players and sign one of the 10-day players to a two-way contract.

Each of the four 10-day players can be signed to an additional 10-day deal before LA has to make this kind of decision. Has anyone shown enough promise to warrant a full-season commitment? We'll unpack this in chronological order.

Isaiah Thomas

The 5'9" veteran point guard signed his first 10-day deal with the Lakers on the 17th, meaning LA can re-sign him to a second 10-day deal on the 27th. Given their continued issues locking down secondary ball-handlers and helpful shooters, it seems that IT is worth a longer gander, even though he has proven to be inconsistent on offense and occasionally disengaged on defense.

Thomas, 32, a former two-time All-Star, put up strong numbers in his first two games with LA. He scored 19 points on 5-of-12 field goal shooting in a 110-92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, then 13 points while shooting 5-of-11 from the floor in a 115-110 loss to the Bulls. Then his output fell off a cliff, as he proceeded to average 2.5 points on 2-of-16 shooting from the floor across his next two contests. He was a DNP - CD from David Fizdale in last night's 122-115 Christmas Day loss to the Nets, which would have been his fifth game with LA. 

Sadly, the Thomas comeback story seems likely to end with just one ten-day deal in LA. He is averaging 9.3 points a night, while shooting 30.8% from the floor (including just 22.7% from deep) and 72.7% from the free-throw line. He is also chipping in 2.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in four games. 

Jemerrio Jones

The Lakers officially announced the signing of forward Jemerrio Jones, like Thomas yet another ex-Laker, on the 21st. While there may be a bit more time for LA to see what Jones can do on the floor before making a determination, it appears that he may already have fallen out of favor with David Fizdale. Along with Thomas, Jones was also a DNP - CD last night.

Jones, 26, enjoyed a six-game cup of coffee with the Lakers at the tail end of the 2018-19 NBA season. Because Rob Pelinka's front office appears determined to not look beyond players he's already brought into the Staples Center/Crypto.com Arena, the signing of Jones should perhaps not have come as any kind of surprise to Lakers fans who've been paying attention.

The 6'5" wing out of New Mexico State has suited up for just two games so far. He has yet to crack the Lakers' rotation in any meaningful way. In 7.5 minutes a night, Jones holds averages just 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds. 

Darren Collison 

Darren Collison opted to retire in the summer of 2019 at age 31, rather than net a lucrative new free agent contract in the vicinity of $40-50 million. He had seemingly found a niche in the NBA as a reliable shooter with some defensive moxie, and the decision came about as a surprise to many.

The next season Collison, an LA native, openly flirted with making a comeback to one of his two hometown teams before ultimately opting to stay retired.

This year, however, even Joe Johnson is getting dusted off and trotted out for a 10-day deal. Collison finally decided to get in on the action and make good on his mild Los Angeles intimations, signing with the Lakers on Christmas Eve.

Heading into last night's game, Collison, now 34, held career averages of 12.5 points (with a .471/.394/.853 slash line), 5.0 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 708 games across 10 years of NBA action. 

Before last night, the 6'0" vet hadn't played in an NBA game for two and a half years. The rust showed. He scored no points while going 0-of-2 from the field in 12:05. Collison pulled down two boards and dished out one dime in that time span. Assuming he can approximate the player he was with a bit more run, Collison seems worth a longer look. Given that he's no spring chicken and has missed so much time, it's unrealistic to expect much beyond a deep-bench role as a secondary ball-handler and occasional spot shooter.

Stanley Johnson

Stanley Johnson might be the smartest of the Lakers' four signings thus far. The team is hurting on both sides of the ball. A clear need for the club, however, has been large defense-oriented forwards. The athletic, switchable Johnson can play either forward spot, and is quick enough to guard shooting guards, to boot. 

The 25-year-old out of Arizona may not have much of a jumper (he's a career 37.5% shooter from the field), but the 6'6" vet still appears to have untapped upside.

Johnson inked his contract with LA on Christmas Eve, and immediately was thrown into the deep end against the Nets. Johnson played 27:24, the sixth-highest minutes total on the team in the loss. He shot 2-for-4 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the foul line to nab scoure seven points. He also chipped in a rebound, one assist and a steal. Johnson registered a solid +6 during his time on the hardwood. He played significantly more minutes than Wayne Ellington or two-way forward Mason Jones.

Trevor Ariza, signed this summer to be the Lakers' primary defensive-oriented big forward, is 35 and has struggled with injury and coronavirus issues during this young season. Johnson may lack Ariza's shooting stroke (though he did go 1-of-3 from outside on Christmas), but he's a better defender. He seems at least destined for a second 10-day deal, but could (and should) actually stick around a bit longer than that if he can keep this up.