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Max Christie plans to play for duration of Lakers’ summer league schedule

July 12, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Lakers guard Max Christie is among the second-year players who are benefiting from a second go-round in summer league.

And if things go Christie’s way, he’ll be playing for the duration of the Lakers’ time in Las Vegas, continuing with Wednesday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“I’m not going to say I’m gonna say I’ll play the rest of them and I’m not going to say [Wednesday’s] my last game,” Christie told the Southern California News Group after Tuesday afternoon’s practice. “It could always change. I want to play as many games as possible, but a lot of the time it’s not necessarily up to me. If management decides they want to shut me down then we can do that. If not, I always want to keep playing.

“As long as my body’s holding up well and we’re winning games, why not? At the end of the day, I want to play.”

Christie, the No. 35 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, has made the most of his second summer league.

He’s averaged 18.8 points on 48.9% shooting from the field and 60% from 3-point range to go with 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the Lakers’ four summer league games (two in Las Vegas and two in Sacramento).

“I’ve played pretty well,” Christie said. “I’ve been assertive. I’ve done a good job of doing what I’ve wanted to do, which is come out, assert myself, be aggressive and get my teammates’ position to win and score the ball.”

More players entering their second NBA season, especially those who were high draft picks, have competed in summer league action compared to previous years.

Eight of the top-10 picks in the 2022 draft have played at least one summer league game this year.

Lakers assistant and summer league coach JD DuBois sees a clear benefit for players who compete in summer league ahead of their second seasons.

“You can’t substitute live reps and just situations that they can develop that they may not have to focus in on with their main team,” DuBois said. “It’s huge for second-year guys to play, regardless of how high you were picked or how much you play with your main team.”

LEWIS’ CONTRACT

Maxwell Lewis, the No. 40 overall pick in last month’s draft, signed a four-year contract with the Lakers, sources told the Southern California News Group.

The first two years of Lewis’ contract are fully guaranteed, the sources added, with a starting salary of around $1.1 million for 2023-24.

Spotrac, an online resource for team and player contracts, reported that Lewis’ salary for 2024-25 will be $1.8 million.

The sources added that $100,000 of Lewis’ $2.2 million salary for 2025-26 will be guaranteed and he’ll have a team option for his $2.4 million salary for 2026-27.

The Lakers acquired the draft rights to Lewis in a four-team deal that became official the day after the draft. The team used the new second-round pick exception in the collective bargaining agreement to sign Lewis.

With the exception, players selected in the second round can sign a three- or four-year contract with the team who has their draft rights. Both contract options must include a team option for the final season of the deal.

The exception allows teams to sign their second-round picks without having to use their midlevel exception, which was common.

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Orange County Register