The Los Angeles Lakers got a real look at what Cameron Carr can do this summer. And according to one of his teammates, the rest of the NBA should probably pay attention.
Carr went off for 26 points against the Miami Heat in Summer League action, showing exactly why the Lakers grabbed him in the draft. But second-year guard Chris Mañon thinks that was just a preview.
“I feel like we haven’t really seen his full athletic ability yet. He’s special. Special for sure,” Mañon told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Then Mañon dropped a warning that felt more like a promise.
“Once his body fills out, he’ll be a problem.”
That tweet from McMenamin on July 9 caught fire fast. And honestly, it’s hard to argue with the assessment. Carr looked like he was in attack mode from the second he stepped on the floor. He drove into the paint the same way he did at Baylor, where that ability turned him into a legit scoring threat. He also showed off his three-point range, which is a nice bonus for a rookie adjusting to the NBA pace.
Carr Is Focused on Defense Too
The scoring is obvious. But Carr is putting real work into the other end of the floor. When asked about his defensive development during Summer League media availability, he kept it simple.
“Be consistent. Show that I’m not a lapse on defense, and just every time that they rely on me defensively, just step up and get the job done,” Carr said.
For a rookie coming into a team that just lost LeBron James to free agency, that kind of mentality is going to matter. The Lakers are entering a new era. LeBron, the four-time champion who led LA to its last title in 2020, is testing the market. That means head coach JJ Redick is officially handing the keys to Luka Doncic to run the show.
But Carr is emerging as a major piece of the puzzle too. He’s not just a role player. The way he’s playing right now, he looks like a potential building block for the future. Maybe even a star in the making.
And if Mañon is right about what happens when Carr physically matures? The rest of the league might not have much time to enjoy this version of him.
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