NBA

Lakers, Vander Blue Agree Two-Way Contract

Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports reported that Vander Blue and the Los Angeles Lakers had agreed on a two-way contract

A report from Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania stated that the Los Angeles Lakers and guard Vander Blue had agreed terms on a two-way contract, thus handing the free agent shooting guard the final roster position still available for the team.

Blue finished the 2016-17 season as the NBA Development League Most Valuable Player, and the 25-year-old followed up that stellar season with the Lakers' minor league team by helping the Lakers win the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Entering camp determined to secure a roster spot in the NBA, Blue was dealt a big blow to his NBA dream when the team signed 2015 NBA champion Andrew Bogut to a non-guaranteed contract. The front office and coaching staff quickly began disseminating language that suggested the center had the 15th and final full time roster spot locked up despite not being healthy enough to feature in any of the preseason.

As the team approached the NBA deadline to cut rosters to the required 15 players, Blue got the boot. Less than a week later, though, the Milwaukee native appears to have landed the Lakers' final two-way contract. This is in no way a shock, obviously, as Blue securing this two-way contract was predicted before the start of training camp.

The two-way contract is a new phenomenon in the NBA, as each team is now allowed 15 full-time roster spots, along with two two-way contracts. The two-way contract rules state that a player can spend a maximum of 45 days in the NBA during the G-League season. So, Blue will spend time with his former team, which has re-branded from the LA D-Fenders to the South Bay Lakers.

The Lakers already handed out one two-way contract to guard Alex Caruso following his strong Summer League performance, and Blue looked like the best bet to secure the second of the two-way contracts, given his history with the organization and his performance in Las Vegas.

So, now, the Lakers have filled up their entire roster, and just in time, too. The Lakers tip-off their 2017-18 season on Thursday, Oct. 19, so Blue should be available for practice on Wednesday if the signatures are secured and the paperwork is finalized in time.

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Incidentally, starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is suspended for the first two games of the season, while backup shooting guard Josh Hart is listed as day-to-day with Achilles bursitis, so Blue taking part in Wednesday's practice could immediately result in the shooting guard seeing floor time on Thursday--possibly even getting a start.

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