Lakers rookie Cameron Carr (right oblique strain) is off the injury report and available to make his NBA debut on Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors. He missed the first six games of the 2026-27 season. Tipoff at Crypto.com Arena is 6 p.m. PT on Sunday, Nov. 1.
Carr suffered the oblique strain during training camp after flashing his potential as a scorer in Summer League. He was able to get in three practices with the team’s G League affiliate this week before being cleared from the injury report. Earlier in the week, JJ Redick said the team “needed him to be able to get through a full practice, so that’s probably a very important step,” and wanted to confirm Carr could take contact and was in game shape.
The Lakers took the 21-year-old guard 24th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft after moving up one spot from No. 25 in a trade with the New York Knicks. He averaged 17.4 points across seven Summer League games. In the first two preseason games, he averaged 12.0 points in a little over 17 minutes before the injury.
Elsewhere on the report, starting forward Ziaire Williams is questionable with what the official report lists as left foot and heel injury management. He has missed two straight games. Adou Thiero (left knee injury management) remains out, and Walker Kessler will be available despite a left finger injury suffered in training camp. Toronto will be without Kawhi Leonard (left knee injury management).
The Lakers are 4-2. They squandered a 25-point lead in Friday’s 112-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on Oct. 30, a game in which the bench struggled.
Ziaire Williams’ Foot Decides Carr’s Role
Two things pull in opposite directions on Carr’s debut. The bench’s showing against Golden State argues for giving a scoring guard minutes right away. But his ramp-up was three G League practices, and Redick set the bar at conditioning and taking contact.
Redick also said before camp that the team has “six or seven wings that have an opportunity to play,” which means the Lakers don’t have to rush a rookie into a big role. The deciding factor is Williams. If the starting forward plays, Carr is likely to get spot minutes at most. If Williams sits a third straight game, a wing spot opens and Carr is the obvious candidate to fill it.
Redick Settles Williams Before He Settles Carr
The Lakers’ next decision is whether Williams plays against Toronto, and it will come before Sunday’s tipoff. That call will show how quickly Redick plans to work Carr into the rotation. No return timeline has been reported for Thiero.
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