Lakers likely to re-sign Stanley Johnson on Thursday

Dave McMenamin: The Lakers will likely sign small ball big man Stanley Johnson to a 10-day contract on Thursday, league sources told ESPN. Johnson, 25, recently completed a 10-day hardship exemption contract with LAL and the SoCal native made an impact with his on-ball defense and toughness
Source: Twitter @mcten

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Dave McMenamin @mcten
The Lakers will likely sign small ball big man Stanley Johnson to a 10-day contract on Thursday, league sources told ESPN. Johnson, 25, recently completed a 10-day hardship exemption contract with LAL and the SoCal native made an impact with his on-ball defense and toughness – 6:36 PM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
Trevor Ariza gets the start while Stanley Johnson is away from the team. LAL going with its 21st starting lineup in Game No. 39 pic.twitter.com/OIhq9PcUGA – 10:02 PM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
The Rajon Rondo trade saved money and opened up on extra roster spot for the Lakers.
New for @The Athletic on Stanley Johnson, Avery Bradley and the Lakers’ flexibility as they shift their identity midseason: theathletic.com/3049845/2022/0… – 4:52 PM

Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Tuesday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast! We discussed Malik Monk’s on-court growth, and Stanley Johnson and Avery Bradley’s futures as Lakers. Plus, America’s favorite new game show: “Eat DeAndre Jordan’s Money!”#FirstListen @LockedOnNetwork @LockedOnNBAPods
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mal… – 11:19 AM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
There’s mutual interest between Stanley Johnson and the Lakers to have him rejoin the team, league sources told ESPN. LAL has three options to have him come back: Sign him outright; sign for a 10-day contract then retain; sign him for two consecutive 10-days, then retain. – 8:55 PM

Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The Lakers are exploring ways to re-sign Stanley Johnson after the expiration of Johnson’s 10-day hardship deal, Coach Frank Vogel said today.
More NBA from me: marcstein.Substack.com – 4:54 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Perhaps a little foreshadowing by Frank here, slipping that “Stanley Johnson has the potential to become a factor for us.” – 4:40 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
On a question from @Dan Woike, Vogel confirms that Darren Collison and Stanley Johnson are done their 10-day deals and therefore were not at practice today. – 4:38 PM

Eric Pincus @EricPincus
If the Lakers want to sign Stanley Johnson immediately, it can only be for the rest of the season (or longer). If they wait til Jan 5, they can sign him to a 10-day. Last check, Lakers don’t have enough players out to sign another hardship player – 1:35 PM

Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
NBA 10-Day hardship contracts that expired today:
Darren Collison – Los Angeles Lakers
Stanley Johnson – Los Angeles Lakers
Daniel Oturu – Toronto Raptors – 8:20 AM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Frank Vogel says he’ll go with the same starting lineup as Friday — LeBron, Stanley Johnson, Russ, Avery Bradley and Malik Monk. – 7:48 PM

More on this storyline

Stanley Johnson (6.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg) started three games for the Lakers on a 10-day contract via hardship waiver, making a splash as a defensive specialist at 6-foot-6. The Fullerton native’s deal, however, expired on Monday along with fellow SoCal native Darren Collison (who was inactive for his final two Laker games) and neither attended the team’s Monday practice. While acknowledging the decision on the roster spot would fall to General Manager Rob Pelinka and advisor Kurt Rambis, Vogel tipped his hand by saying, “Stanley Johnson has potentially become a factor for us.” Vogel followed up by saying he hoped Johnson would join the team for a few more games – the Lakers could sign him for the rest of the season, or sign him to a new 10-day contract beginning Wednesday. -via Orange County Register / January 4, 2022

Dave McMenamin: Darren Collison and Stanley Johnson’s 10-day hardship contracts expired and they were not with the Lakers on Monday, however, Frank Vogel said “we still hope to have him back” when asked about Johnson -via Twitter @mcten / January 3, 2022

Kyle Goon: Frank Vogel says Rob Pelinka and Kurt Rambis will make the calls on how to use the open roster spot and whether the team keeps Avery Bradley. -via Twitter @kylegoon / January 3, 2022