Lake Show Life
Fansided

Lakers Offseason: Zach Auguste To Join Lakers for Summer League

By Stephen Ontiveros

Mar 27, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Zach Auguste (30) reacts during the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the championship game in the East regional of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Zach Auguste (30) reacts during the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the championship game in the East regional of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Los Angeles Lakers added Notre Dame center, Zach Auguste to their Summer League roster on Saturday

With the draft now in the rearview mirror, all eyes have turned to Las Vegas as the Summer League season rapidly approaches but it is still unclear how the Los Angeles Lakers will round out their roster. However, the picture started to take shape on Saturday when it was announced that former Notre Dame center, Zach Auguste agreed to join the team come July.

The 6’10, 22-year-old spent four seasons in South Bend, but it wasn’t until his junior season that he grabbed the attention of NBA scouts when he averaged 12.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, en route to an ACC championship and the school’s first appearance in the Elite Eight since 1979.

While his senior season was a bit of a disappointment offensively, only increasing his scoring to 14.0 points per game in a larger role, Auguste improved drastically when it came to rebounding, averaging 10.7 rebounds per game with a 21.2 Total Rebound Percentage (TRB). 

To put that into perspective, in his lone year at Kentucky, Julius Randle had a 19.2 TRB and you can see how well that translated to the NBA. Similar to Randle, while he is not much of a shot blocker, his rebounding ability makes up for those weaknesses.

More from Lake Show Life

Auguste is a bit of a one-note player on offense as he has not been able to develop a jump shot to this point, only making seven shots from outside of 17 feet his senior year. He did not even attempt a shot from beyond the 3-point arc in either his junior or senior season. 

Where Auguste does have success, however, is in the pick-and-roll. The near seven footer has displayed some fantastic footwork and good hands, but has yet to learn how to take advantage of these gifts on a consistent basis, as he averaged 2.4 turnovers per game in the low post. 

With the Lakers looking to add young talent wherever they can, especially at the center position, Auguste has a good chance of playing for the team long-term as a high energy player off the bench. He was a large reason why Notre Dame was able to advance to the Elite Eight in both 2015 and 2016, even earning All-ACC Third Team honors in 2016.

Spending time with head coach Luke Walton and the rest of the coaching staff could be just what Auguste needs to meet his potential.

Next: D'Angelo Russell Dominates Summer Pro-Am Games (Video)

With Summer League just two weeks away, we will soon find out if Auguste will be a part of the Lakers’ long term plans.

Home/Lakers News