Lakers' Marcus Landry To Get One Last Shot Before Decisions Are Made

The regular season of a brand new year filled with exciting basketball is right around the corner. With just days remaining before the first games are played, teams are now being tasked with making their final cuts.

Unfortunately, with that in mind, a handful of NBA D-League alumni often fall victim to such last minute decisions. Will the Reno Bighorns' Marcus Landry find himself to be one of them after the dust clears?

The deadline for official rosters to be turned in to the league is this coming Monday, October 28th. That said, many teams have figured most things out and are making their cuts earlier than necessary. According to a recent report, however, Mike D'Antoni plans to give Marcus Landry another look with some more minutes during the Lakers' final preseason game on Friday.

The swingman is already quite popular with Coach D'Antoni, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The sharpshooter can spread the floor, as he's able to stay poised and knock down the long ball from all around the perimeter. Landry's shot from long-range is his money maker (literally-- he was the NBA D-League's Three-Point Contest champion during All-Star Weekend this past February), so consistency is an obvious key to helping him stand out. So far in the preseason, however, he's struggled to find the rhythm necessary. One has to wonder if what he's done for Los Angeles thus far is enough to keep him in town.

Some analysts say no. Even so, Landry is a very easy guy to root for. He's been around the NBA block quite a lot, and doesn't appear ready to walk away from things just yet. Landry could easily propel himself into a nice little situation overseas, but the ultimate goal of making it to the NBA (and staying there) has kept him stateside for a large chunk of his journey.

His perseverance to date seems to resonate with coaches, executives, and basketball fans alike. The fact that he's continued to strut his stuff in the D-League, while hoping to catch on with an NBA team, says a lot about his motivations.

Has Landry done enough to snag a spot on the Lakers? Will anything he does on Friday make a difference? Only time will tell.