Lakers Make Two-Way Roster Decision After Arthur Kaluma Agrees to Deal

After the NBA Summer League came to an end, with the Los Angeles Lakers falling to the Golden State Warriors in the semifinals in Las Vegas, the team’s front office got back to work making a couple of moves.

Along with adding defensive-minded guard Matisse Thybulle to the roster, the Lakers brass decided to sign Summer League standout Arthur Kaluma to a two-way contract.

As a result of bringing in Kaluma, the team needed to part ways with one of the three players on the roster with two-way deals: Chris Manon, AK Okereke or Peter Suder.

Lakers Waive Peter Suder to Make Room for Arthur Kaluma

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers are waiving Suder to open up that third two-way contract to sign Kaluma.

The Coachella Valley Lakers would welcome Peter Suder to their roster, a source familiar with the organization told ESPN, but understand that Suder will explore his options. The Lakers waived Suder from his 2-way deal to be able to sign Arthur Kaluma to a 2-way after Vegas.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 21, 2026

Although there was a case to part ways with Okereke, Suder seemed to be the player who was going to be waived all along, as he didn’t do much during the Summer League to merit being on a two-way deal with the Lakers.

Things got so bad for Suder during the Summer League that he didn’t get the nod to play in the semifinals. That was the sign that the Lakers were ready to move on and that Kaluma could get the call with a two-way contract offer, which made a lot of sense, considering he was one of the breakout stars in Las Vegas during this offseason tournament.

Lakers Make the Smart Move With Arthur Kaluma

Heading into the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, all the buzz for the storied franchise was directed at rookie Cameron Carr and second-year forward Adou Thiero. They were the star attractions, without many other players on the roster drawing much attention.

However, that didn’t stop Kaluma from putting on a show and getting the much-deserved attention, as he played at a high level from start to finish on this Summer League squad.

Even though Carr and Thiero played well during their Summer League stint, Kaluma definitely stole the show, averaging a team-high 18.6 points on some incredibly efficient shooting, going 60.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep.

If the Lakers didn’t extend the offer to Kaluma, he almost certainly would’ve gotten picked up by another team, as he turned a lot of heads and earned this opportunity.

Lakers Players Snubbed for Summer League First & Second Team Honors

Despite going 4-1 during the Summer League, with the only loss being a hard-fought battle with the Warriors in the semifinals, the team didn’t get a single player named to the Summer League First Team or Second Team.

No Lakers player made the Summer League First Team nor the Second Team pic.twitter.com/02zNBy1Brf
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) July 21, 2026

Considering how impressive the all-around performances by Kaluma, Carr and Thiero were during this stretch, a strong case can be made that the Lakers were definitely snubbed, with none of these young players making either team.

Even though these three talented young players on the rise didn’t get the respect they deserved for what they accomplished during the Summer League, the future is bright for them, as they’ll look to continue making an impression once training camp and the preseason roll around in September.

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