JJ Redick identifies a player he hopes will see playing time

LOS ANGELES – When is Los Angeles Lakers traveled north to face the Sacramento Kings last week, they lost both Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent due to an injury during the game. As a result, two-way contract rookie Chris Mannon saw his first NBA minutes. Lakers head coach JJ Redick decided to play the rookie in the third quarter, and that could be a sign of things to come at different points this season.

Before the Lakers’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers last Monday, JJ Reddick admitted that Manon is a player he really wants to try and get opportunities for at times this season.

“I think he has a chance to be an elite on-ball defender. We’ve seen that every day in the gym. He’s developing as a shooter. He’s surprised me just with his decision-making and his ball handling and his ability to just play other actions,” Redick said. “I asked him very early in the summer when we had him in the gym for a couple of weeks, did you play any pick-and-rolls in college? He’s like ‘not one possession.’

There’s a basketball player there and we’re going to try to develop that,” Redick continued. “And part of that development is looking for opportunities for him to play in NBA games.”

Magnon played just over two minutes against the Kings, going scoreless and grabbing one rebound. The next night against the Blazers, he played four minutes and also grabbed one rebound without taking a single shot.

But what was evident was his confidence and his defensive awareness. There was one play where Blazers wing Toumani Kamara appeared to have a wide-open look at a corner three-point shot. But Manon he recovered perfectly to return to the corner and deflect the shot attempt.

Under the two-way contract, Manon is limited to just 50 NBA games during the regular season, and will not be eligible for the playoffs unless the Lakers eventually convert his contract to a standard contract. However, if the Lakers’ injury woes don’t continue, they likely won’t come close to playing their maximum number of games.

Manon will get plenty of opportunities to develop in the G League with South Bay this season. The Lakers signed him to a two-way contract after going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft. Sunday’s game against the Kings was the first time the Lakers saw him in actual NBA game action as recovered from an ankle injury during training camp.