The rookie guard remains ready amid the success of Nick Smith Jr., Drew Thiem

LOS ANGELES – When is Los Angeles Lakers turned to their two-way contract players this season, they managed to make an impact. Both Nick Smith Jr. and Drew Thiem have contributed to the Lakers’ wins, and have been with the home club for most of the year. The The Lakers’ third signing, rookie Chris Menonhe hasn’t gotten that chance yet.

After going undrafted in the 2025 NBA draft, Chris Menon signed with the Lakers in two ways. The injury kept him out of training camp, but the Lakers saw enough of him in summer league to keep him on the roster.

So far, Manon has spent most of his rookie season in South Bay in the G League. Earlier in the season, he was briefly put in the rotation due to injuries, and the head coach of the Lakers JJ Redick admitted he wanted to find more minutes for Mannion at some point.

But until then, Manon is continues to improve his game while getting reps in the G League.

“I’m just trying to get better every day. I’ve obviously seen a lot of things to improve on,” Manon said after a recent game in South Bay. “I’m just working on the little things I can do, and just trying to stay ready.”

Mannion’s early opportunity with the Lakers came during back-to-back games in October against the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers. While his stats may not have jumped out, he showed some of the defensive prowess the Lakers knew they were getting when they signed him.

After the Kings game, Redick mentioned that Manon has the ability to be an elite defender in the NBA. He also admitted he was a little surprised by Magnon’s ball handling and decision-making.

Including the Lakers contract players, the South Bay has had some talented scorers this season. It gave Magnon the opportunity to work on that playmaking and decision-making as a ball-handler.

“We had a lot of good players, so sometimes I don’t get the ball as much,” Manon said. But I think when I get the ball and stay aggressive, I can play a little bit.

Manon has appeared in 23 games so far with South Bay, averaging just over 29 minutes per game. He averaged 13.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals while shooting 48.6 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from the 3-point line and 79.3 percent from the free throw line.

From what he saw, South Bay was a good organization in terms of getting the right development reps.

“You see Drew, you see Nick and Kobe (Bufkin), step up, give guys a chance to shoot and be aggressive,” Manon said. “Basically, you control yourself. I think Zach (Guthrie) does a good job of just letting us play and trying to make us better.”