On Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakersofficially signed forward Ziaire Williams to a one-year veteran minimum contract. At 6-foot-9, Williams isn’t much of an offensive threat and is, at best, a mediocre 3-point shooter, but he’s known as a capable defender and has plenty of athleticism.
The Lakers then got an agreement on a one-year deal on Monday from Matisse Thybulle, another capable defensive-minded wing. Unlike Williams, Thybulle is a good 3-point shooter, and while he’s 6-foot-5, he has a seven-foot wingspan, not to mention ample athleticism himself.
The team now has 16 players on its roster, which means it needs to get rid of one player from its roster by the start of the regular season in October. As salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan pointed out on X (formerly Twitter), it should be able to do that through a trade.
Los Angeles Lakers cap situation after signing Kevon Looney, Ziaire Williams, and Matisse Thybulle to veteran minimums.
They could resolve their roster crunch with a 2-for-1 trade for a more expensive player. They have space below the first apron hard cap to do so. pic.twitter.com/yBZjEV3hoW
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) July 20, 2026
There is speculation that this could set up a consolidation trade that would bring back Jonathan Kuminga, whom the Lakers still have some interest in. However, as Dan Woike of The Athletic wrote, the chances of Kuminga being sent to L.A. have dropped lately.
Another possibility tossed around could be a trade that sends guard Bronny James to the team his father, LeBron, ends up signing with in free agency.
Regardless, the Lakers have done a fine job filling out their roster after losing James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes in free agency. The one hole they have yet to fill is a starting-level two-way forward.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Where Lakers’ roster stands after addition of Matisse Thybulle
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