In a press release on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that it has waived center Robert Upshaw and shooting guard Michael Frazier II. The move is in line with the team's goal of reducing its roster down to 15 prior to the start of the NBA's 2015-16 season on October 28.
The undrafted rookie was a product of the University of Washington. He originally signed with the Lakers on September 14. Following the 2015 NBA Draft, Los Angeles took notice of the 21-year-old Upshaw and signed him for a Summer League stint. He eventually went on and became of the team's invites for training camp. After the league, Upshaw delivered promising performances when he played for four preseason games.
That is likely the reason why his release has been a surprise for Lakers fans. There are even speculations that he will compete with Robert Sacre for Los Angeles' final roster spot. During Upshaw's stint with the Lakers, he averaged 2.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, as well as 0.75 blocks all in 14.1 minutes per game.
Frazier's case was a bit more of a long shot as there is already a handful of players on the team's roster who do the same things he does. Frazier II is an undrafted rookie from the University of Florida who initially joined the Lakers on August 25. He played in four preseason games for the team where he averaged 2.0 points, 0.8 assists, and 2.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game.
These releases drop Los Angeles' roster to a total of 17 players. In other words, the team will have to cut two more and it must be done before the season opener on October 28 where the Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves. Coach Byron Scott did mention that the organization hopes to include Upshaw and Frazier to its D-League affiliates.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles might have inconspicuously acquired Jabari Parker from the Milwaukee Bucks. That is according to a recent broadcast by the Time Warner Cable Sportsnet which is spotted by sports blog The Cauldron.
It had been reported late last month that Parker was not playing for Milwaukee since he was recovering from a surgery to address a torn left ACL. He then returned to practice with the team at the Bucks camp.
The Cauldron also cleared things up in a Twitter post saying that Parker is clearly not with the Lakers. It might just be an error on Time Warner's part as the Lakers also have Jabari Brown in its camp. Both Brown and Metta World Peace is still competing for a spot in Los Angeles' a roster spot this week.
