Lakers News: Team Adds Players to Summer League Roster
By Alex Torres
The NBA Draft is now officially over and the Los Angeles Lakers kept all their picks. With the second, they took D’Angelo Russell. At the end of the first round, they took Larry Nance Jr. and with the 34th, they selected Anthony Brown. All three players will have a good shot to stick with this current Lakers squad.
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Their first test together will be at the Las Vegas Summer League. The team will feature last seasons’ rookies, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson as well as the Lakers’ Tarik Black and Jabari Brown. From Mike Trudell:
Kupchak expects 7 guys to play on what’ll be a fun Summer League team: Randle, Clarkson, Black, J. Brown, Russell, Nance Jr. and A. Brown.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) June 26, 2015
Lakers reached summer league commitments with undrafted bigs, Washington’s Robert Upshaw and Arizona’s Brandon Ashley, source tells RealGM. The players who didn’t get drafted still have another chance to get noticed. It looks like Robert Upshaw and Brandon Ashley will get a shot with the Lakers’ Summer League team.
Lakers reached summer league commitments with undrafted bigs, Washington's Robert Upshaw and Arizona's Brandon Ashley, source tells RealGM.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2015
It was surprising that Ashley went undrafted and many Laker fans were big fans of Upshaw, so the Lakers were very fortunate to land both of them after the draft ended. While they are not guaranteed a spot on the roster next season, they will have a shot to prove they belong in this league.
Ashley stands at 6-foot-9 and is a long and lanky big man that weighs about 228 pounds. He has a great wingspan and is a monster on the defensive glass. Ashley can run in transition and has a decent mid range game. He needs to work on getting stronger, but is an interesting prospects for the Lakers to look at this Summer. He is only 20 years old.
Since the Lakers didn’t go big with their first three picks, bringing in Upshaw makes sense. He’s a seven footer that weighs 260 pounds. He’s got big hands and has the perfect size to be a center in the NBA. Upshaw is a great shot blocker that can rebound on both ends as well. He lacks lateral quickness and athleticism and can’t shoot the ball very well. Still, he’s another intriguing prospect that could find himself on the roster nest season.