Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said Luka Doncic is enjoying playing alongside rookie Cameron Carr. On Thursday, speaking to the media for the first time ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season with coach JJ Redick, Pelinka said Doncic and Carr were teammates during a scrimmage.
Doncic was actively looking to pass to Carr because of his exceptional 3-point shooting and ability to catch lobs and finish at the rim.
“You can see him forming before our eyes,” Pelinka said about Carr. “Even in the pickup game right behind this curtain today, he was on Luka [Doncic’s] team and Luka was looking for him ’cause he was knocking down corner 3s and had a couple of back cut lobs where Luka threw it up and Cam came out of nowhere to finish.”
Excitement around Carr is at its peak among the fan base as they believe the first-round pick could be special and play key minutes in his rookie season. Los Angeles hasn’t had a first-round pick who has lived up to the hype in years, so fans’ hopes rest on Carr’s shoulders to change that.
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With Doncic already showing a lot of trust in Carr’s play-finishing, Redick might take his chances by giving the rookie valuable rotation minutes. Fortunately for Carr, Los Angeles is looking to play with a deeper roster, and the team’s depth at forward spots isn’t the best, so he will get plenty of chances to prove himself.
Cameron Carr also had a solid run in the Las Vegas Summer League. He averaged 18.0 points on 42.4% shooting in four games. He didn’t shoot that well from deep at 19.2%, but was efficient in the California Classic tournament. In his first two games, he made nine 3-pointers.
Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick didn’t hold back on his praise for Cameron Carr during Thursday’s press conference. Redick admitted he was surprised to see Carr fall to No. 24 as the Lakers had him much higher on their projections.
“Where he was on our board was not No. 24,” Redick said. “He was much higher. We feel very fortunate that we were able to get Cam.”
With the Lakers failing to land Jonathan Kuminga and losing LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, the wing spots are up for grabs. Carr will compete against veterans like Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt for minutes.
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