Los Angeles Lakers Roster 2014-2015
Los Angeles Lakers current roster, including new players, pictures, draft picks and playoff roster for the 2014-15 NBA Season.
NEWS!!!: Byron Scott is the Lakers new Head Coach!
2014-2015 Season Roster:
Despite the disaster of the previous season the Lakers were willing to give Mike D'Antoni another opportunity in 2014-15 but the team's refusal to secure his future until 2016 led to the coach's resignation and the end of a forgettable era. Without a coach and with just a couple of players with guaranteed contracts (Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre) the Lakers weren't able to convince free agents Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James so their rebuilding process started with the arrival of Jeremy Lin, Carlos Boozer and the return of some of their own free agents from the previous season. These movements made it a competitive roster but not good enough to play for a title, so the team still hope to have better luck with future free agents like LaMarcus Aldridge in 2015 or even Kevin Durant in 2016. Phil Jackson, the coach they should have hired two years ago wasn't available, already working for the Knicks, so Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss considered a lot of options before finally deciding to go with Byron Scott, a member of the Showtime era and an experienced coach. |
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2014-2015 Los Angeles Lakers roster and Players Status
| Guards: | |||||||
| No. | Player | Position | Ht | Wt | Yrs | DOB | more |
| 20 | Dwight Buycks |
Point Guard | 6-3 | 190 | 2 | 3/6/1989 | profile |
| 17 | Jeremy Lin | Point Guard | 6-3 | 200 | 4 | 8/23/1988 | profile |
| 9 | Ronnie Price |
Point Guard | 6-2 | 190 | 9 | 06/21/1983 | profile |
| 6 | Jordan Clarkson | Point / Shooting Guard | 6-5 | 193 | R | 6/7/1992 | profile |
| 12 | Vander Blue | Shooting Guard | 6-4 | 200 | 1 | 7/17/1992 | profile |
| 15 | Jabari Brown | Shooting Guard | 6-6 | 214 | R | 12/18/1992 | profile |
| 24 | Kobe Bryant | Shooting Guard | 6-6 | 205 | 18 | 8/23/1978 | profile |
| 2 | Wayne Ellington |
Shooting Guard | 6-4 | 200 | 5 | 11/29/1987 | profile |
| Forwards: | |||||||
| No. | Player | Position | Ht | Wt | Yrs | DOB | more |
| 0 | Nick Young | Shooting G / Small F. | 6-7 | 210 | 7 | 6/1/1985 | profile |
| 11 | Wesley Johnson | Small Forward | 6-7 | 215 | 4 | 7/11/1987 | profile |
| 5 | Carlos Boozer | Power Forward | 6-9 | 258 | 12 | 11/20/1981 | profile |
| 21 | Ed Davis | Power Forward | 6-10 | 225 | 4 | 6/5/1989 | profile |
| 4 | Ryan Kelly | Power Forward | 6-11 | 228 | 1 | 4/9/1991 | profile |
| 30 | Julius Randle | Power Forward | 6-9 | 250 | R | 11/29/1994 | profile |
| Centers: | |||||||
| No. | Player | Position | Ht | Wt | Yrs | DOB | more |
| 27 | Jordan Hill | Power F. / Center | 6-10 | 235 | 5 | 7/27/1987 | profile |
| 28 | Tarik Black | Center | 6-11 | 257 | R | 11/22/1991 | profile |
| 50 | Robert Sacre | Center | 7-0 | 260 | 2 | 6/6/1989 | profile |
| Didn't play and retired: | |||||||
| No. | Player | Position | Ht | Wt | Yrs | DOB | more |
| 10 | Steve Nash | Point Guard | 6-3 | 195 | 18 | 7/2/1974 | profile |
| Played but were traded or waived: | |||||||
| No. | Player | Position | Ht | Wt | Yrs | DOB | more |
| 7 | Xavier Henry (waived) | Shooting Guard | 6-6 | 220 | 4 | 3/15/1991 | profile |
Notes: Yrs means complete NBA seasons.
| Head Coach: | Byron Scott | |
| Assistant Coaches: (they are allowed to be on the bench) |
Paul Pressey Jim Eyen Mark Madsen | |
| Player Development Coaches | Larry Lewis | |
| Athletic Trainer: | Gary Vitti | |
2014-2015 Player Movement
They arrived: Lakers new Players and Coach
Byron Scott (Head Coach) After contacting or interviewing a lot of coaches --Mike Dunleavy, Kurt Rambis, Alvin Gentry, Lionel Hollins, George Karlt-- the Lakers finally offered the job to Byron Scott, and he agreed to a a 4-year, $17million deal. As a player, he won 3 NBA Championships during the Showtime era and spent a total of 11 seasons with the Lakers. |
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Assistant Coach Mark Madsen After being a player development coach last season, he was promoted to assistant coach for 2014-15 |
Assistant Coach Paul Pressey He worked with Byron Scott both with the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Hornets |
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Assistant Coach Jim Eyen He was also with the team under coaches Pat Riley and Mike Dunleavy. |
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The same day LeBron James decided to return to Cleveland, the Lakers also realized they had no chance of getting Carmelo Anthony and decided to finally start rebuild their roster for 2014-15 by acquiring point guard Jeremy Lin in a trade with the Rockets. They got Lin, the Houston's 2015 first round pick and a protected 2015 second round pick (in the 51-55 range) which was originally from the Clippers in exchange for cash and rights to Sergei Lishchuk, the 49th pick from the 2004 NBA draft, originally selected by the Grizzlies under the name Sergei Lishouk. Lin arrives with a contract that has one year remaining worth $14.9 million, but its salary cap impact is just $8.4 million based on the deal structure. Having been unable to attract a big free agent this year, Lin's expiring contract gives the Lakers flexibility to try it again in 2015 when players like Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge become free agents or in 2016 with Kevin Durant. The Rockets made this trade that got them almost nothing in return just to clear the salary cap-space necessary to sign Chris Bosh who hours later decided to stay in Miami. |
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The Lakers added Davis, an athletic power forward that was selected with the 13th overall pick in 2010. Davis agreed to a two-year, $2 million deal with a player option for the second year. The deal add a much needed player to the Lakers slim frontcourt and provides him Davis another the chance to play and show his talent. He averaged 7.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in less than 25 minutes per game during his rookie season but couldn't find more minutes after and was traded to Memphis where he averaged 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 15.2 minutes in 2013-14. |
Boozer, 32 was waived by Chicago via the amnesty provision after they secured Lakers free agent Pau Gasol. The Lakers made the winning bid for him, offering just $3.25 million, money that goes to the Bulls who still have to pay Boozer the $16.8 million they owe him. This way the Lakers added another power forward, an experienced player that, despite sometimes being criticized for his defense, can average close to a double-double (he averaged 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds through 76 games in 2013-14). Boozer's contract expires at the end of the 2014-15 and because of the rules of the amnesty process, the Lakers can't trade him during the season. |
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The Lakers signed Ellington to a one-year non-guaranteed contract. $315,656 of his salary will be guaranteed on Nov. 15, and $581,692 on Dec. 1. After helping North Carolina win the NCAA title in 2009, and being named the tournament's most outstanding player, Ellington has played five seasons in the NBA, his best stretch being with Cleveland, playing for Byron Scott, where he averaged 1<0.4 points a game. |
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The 31-year-old point guard agreed to a one-year minimum contract and will be playing for the sixth team in his nine-year career. |
The Lakers claimed rookie center Tarik Black off waivers after the Rockets waived him to make room for Josh Smith. |
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They stay
 The Lakers could have used the "stretch provision" on the 40-year-old point guard but decided to keep him for the third and final year of his contract. By waiving him previous to September 2014 the team would have been able to stretch his $9.7 million salary over three years. He is the oldest player in the NBA this season. Nash was acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns in 2012, and was thought to be the solution the Lakers needed at point guard, but he suffered a fractured knee in his second game with the team and struggled to stay healthy after that, with problems in his back and hamstring. He played just 15 games in 2013-14, averaging 6.8 points and 5.7 assists. UPDATE: Injuries didn't allow Nash to play and he retired before the end of the season. |
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Nick Young Young, 29, averaged a career-high (and team-high) 17.9 points in 2014 and in the middle of an horrendous 27-55 season, his game and his personality made him a fan favorite. At the end of the season he had declined a player option for $1.2 million but always made it clear he wanted to stay in Los Angeles. |
Jordan Hill |
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Wesley Johnson |
Ryan Kelly |
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Lakers 2014
Draft Picks:
First Round, 7th pick: Julius Randle
In 2014 the Lakers had the highest pick in franchise history since selecting James Worthy with the first pick in 1982, and they used it to select Julius Randle, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward from Kentucky.
Randle averaged 15.0 points on 50 percent shooting and 10.4 rebounds in his freshman season, leading the Wildcats to the NCAA championship game.
Concerns about Randle needing a foot surgery --that turned out to be wrong-- may have cost him a higher spot in the draft and made him available for the Lakers.
Update: The Lakers signed him to a 4-year contract (with team options for the final two) worth approximately $13.5 million and with the departure of Pau Gasol, Randle could become the starting power forward alongside returning center Jordan Hill.
Second Round, 46th pick: Jordan Clarkson
The Lakers didn't own a second round pick but In exchange for $1.8 million in cash they acquired the Wizards pick and selected Jordan Clarkson.
The 22-year-old, Missouri combo guard is 6-foot-5 and averaged 17.5 points last season through 35 appearances with the Tigers.
At some point in the past, the Lakers temporarily owned these 2014 picks:
First Round: 21st pick
Used by the Thunder to pick Mitch McGary.
Second Round: 36th pick
Used by the Bucks to select Johnny O'Bryant.
They left:
Xavier Henry
Henry averaged 10.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 2013-14 but while recovering from knee and wrist surgeries he accepted a minimum deal as a free agent. Sadly for him, after playing 9 games in 2014-15 he ruptured his left Achilles' tendon and later the Lakers waived him to make room for Tarik Black
Pau Gasol
After turning down the Lakers two-year, $23 million offer, Pau Gasol joined the Chicago Bulls with the intention to compete for a championship in 2014-15.
He left after almost 7 seasons in L.A. His arrival in the middle of the 2007-08 season unexpectedly helped the Lakers reach the NBA Finals and he was a key member of the NBA Championships obtained in the next two seasons.
Internationally renowned and one of the most talented power forwards the Lakers have ever seen, Gasol was many times mistreated, including uncountable attempts to trade him and the disrespect Mike D'Antoni showed for his abilities.
Kendall Marshall
The point guard, who joined the Lakers in late December, 2013 after the injuries of Nash, Blake, Farmar and Bryant, and was an instant success averaging 8.0 points and a team-high 8.8 assists a game in 54 appearances, was waived to make room to fulfill the promised contracts to Young and Hill and to sign other players.
The Lakers could have still offered him the same money after the other signings were finalized but the Milwaukee Bucks claimed him, picking up his $915,243 salary for the 2014-15 NBA season.
Jodie Meeks
After averaging Lakers 15.7 points in 77 for the Lakers in 2014, Meeks left as a free agent and joined the Pistons who offered him a 3-year, $19.5 million contract. The highest point of his 2-year Laker career was a 42-point performance in an unexpected 114-110 win over the Thunder in March 9, 2014.
Chris Kaman
After Dwight Howard decided to leave, the Lakers didn't waste any time to get his replacement: free agent Chris Kaman, a 7-0 center that played for the Mavs last year and despite struggling with injuries, played 66 games and averaged 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20.7 minutes.
Jordan Farmar
Farmar became Chris Paul backup after accepting the Clippers’s bi-annual exception, a two-year deal worth $4.2 million. In his return to the NBA and the Lakers in 2013 he averaged 10.1 points and 4.9 assists in 41 games.
Kent Bazemore
Acquired in 2013-14 in exchange for Steve Blake, the Lakers didn't extended him a qualifying offer so he left as an unrestricted free agent. He went to the Atlanta Hawks with a two-year, $4-million deal.
MarShon Brooks
The Lakers didn't show interest in retaining him and he left as an unrestricted free agent to join the Italian team Olimpia Milano.
Coach Mike D'Antoni
The Lakers were willing to respect D'Antoni's contract that still had one more guaranteed year for $4 million but were not yet ready to use their option for an additional season (2015-16) as D'Antoni requested, which led to the coach's resignation.
Hiring D'Antoni over Phil Jackson in 2012 was a big mistake from the beginning. D'Antoni's system wasn't a good fit for the Lakers aging roster and was incredible bad suited for the Lakers bigs Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard. After barely making the Playoffs in 2012-13 just to be swept by the Spurs in the first round, Howard left. Then came the worst: the 2013-14 season was an injury nightmare where a Lakers team that played awful defense was embarrassed many times (including a franchise record 48-point loss at the hands of the Clippers) and finished with the second-worst record ever (27-55, .329%).
D'Antoni left with 67-87 losing record and opened the door to the return of free agent Pau Gasol.
Assistant Coach Kurt Rambis
Rambis, former Showtime era player, coach and assistant coach between 1999 and 2009, and then again under Mike D'Antoni, left to New York to be Derek Fisher's top assistant.
Assistant Coaches Dan D'Antoni and Johnny Davis
First Round, 7th pick: Julius Randle
In 2014 the Lakers had the highest pick in franchise history since selecting James Worthy with the first pick in 1982, and they used it to select Julius Randle, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward from Kentucky.
Randle averaged 15.0 points on 50 percent shooting and 10.4 rebounds in his freshman season, leading the Wildcats to the NCAA championship game.
Concerns about Randle needing a foot surgery --that turned out to be wrong-- may have cost him a higher spot in the draft and made him available for the Lakers.
Update: The Lakers signed him to a 4-year contract (with team options for the final two) worth approximately $13.5 million and with the departure of Pau Gasol, Randle could become the starting power forward alongside returning center Jordan Hill.
Second Round, 46th pick: Jordan Clarkson
The Lakers didn't own a second round pick but In exchange for $1.8 million in cash they acquired the Wizards pick and selected Jordan Clarkson.
The 22-year-old, Missouri combo guard is 6-foot-5 and averaged 17.5 points last season through 35 appearances with the Tigers.
At some point in the past, the Lakers temporarily owned these 2014 picks:
First Round: 21st pick
Used by the Thunder to pick Mitch McGary.
Second Round: 36th pick
Used by the Bucks to select Johnny O'Bryant.
Xavier Henry
Henry averaged 10.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 2013-14 but while recovering from knee and wrist surgeries he accepted a minimum deal as a free agent. Sadly for him, after playing 9 games in 2014-15 he ruptured his left Achilles' tendon and later the Lakers waived him to make room for Tarik Black
Pau Gasol
After turning down the Lakers two-year, $23 million offer, Pau Gasol joined the Chicago Bulls with the intention to compete for a championship in 2014-15.
He left after almost 7 seasons in L.A. His arrival in the middle of the 2007-08 season unexpectedly helped the Lakers reach the NBA Finals and he was a key member of the NBA Championships obtained in the next two seasons.
Internationally renowned and one of the most talented power forwards the Lakers have ever seen, Gasol was many times mistreated, including uncountable attempts to trade him and the disrespect Mike D'Antoni showed for his abilities.
Kendall Marshall
The point guard, who joined the Lakers in late December, 2013 after the injuries of Nash, Blake, Farmar and Bryant, and was an instant success averaging 8.0 points and a team-high 8.8 assists a game in 54 appearances, was waived to make room to fulfill the promised contracts to Young and Hill and to sign other players.
The Lakers could have still offered him the same money after the other signings were finalized but the Milwaukee Bucks claimed him, picking up his $915,243 salary for the 2014-15 NBA season.
Jodie Meeks
After averaging Lakers 15.7 points in 77 for the Lakers in 2014, Meeks left as a free agent and joined the Pistons who offered him a 3-year, $19.5 million contract. The highest point of his 2-year Laker career was a 42-point performance in an unexpected 114-110 win over the Thunder in March 9, 2014.
Chris Kaman
After Dwight Howard decided to leave, the Lakers didn't waste any time to get his replacement: free agent Chris Kaman, a 7-0 center that played for the Mavs last year and despite struggling with injuries, played 66 games and averaged 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20.7 minutes.
Jordan Farmar
Farmar became Chris Paul backup after accepting the Clippers’s bi-annual exception, a two-year deal worth $4.2 million. In his return to the NBA and the Lakers in 2013 he averaged 10.1 points and 4.9 assists in 41 games.
Kent Bazemore
Acquired in 2013-14 in exchange for Steve Blake, the Lakers didn't extended him a qualifying offer so he left as an unrestricted free agent. He went to the Atlanta Hawks with a two-year, $4-million deal.
MarShon Brooks
The Lakers didn't show interest in retaining him and he left as an unrestricted free agent to join the Italian team Olimpia Milano.
Coach Mike D'Antoni
The Lakers were willing to respect D'Antoni's contract that still had one more guaranteed year for $4 million but were not yet ready to use their option for an additional season (2015-16) as D'Antoni requested, which led to the coach's resignation.
Hiring D'Antoni over Phil Jackson in 2012 was a big mistake from the beginning. D'Antoni's system wasn't a good fit for the Lakers aging roster and was incredible bad suited for the Lakers bigs Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard. After barely making the Playoffs in 2012-13 just to be swept by the Spurs in the first round, Howard left. Then came the worst: the 2013-14 season was an injury nightmare where a Lakers team that played awful defense was embarrassed many times (including a franchise record 48-point loss at the hands of the Clippers) and finished with the second-worst record ever (27-55, .329%).
D'Antoni left with 67-87 losing record and opened the door to the return of free agent Pau Gasol.
Assistant Coach Kurt Rambis
Rambis, former Showtime era player, coach and assistant coach between 1999 and 2009, and then again under Mike D'Antoni, left to New York to be Derek Fisher's top assistant.
Assistant Coaches Dan D'Antoni and Johnny Davis