Former Marquette star Jamil Wilson will play for the Lakers in Las Vegas at NBA Summer League
Fresh off an encouraging haul at this year’s NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers are now focused on filling out their roster, and that begins with Summer League. The Lakers’ offseason play will begin in Las Vegas on July 8, and their roster for this year’s Summer League tournament just got a new face: former Marquette standout Jamil Wilson.
After transferring from Oregon in 2010, Wilson played three solid seasons for the Golden Eagles before going undrafted in the 2014. The 6-7 swingman fared well last season as a member of the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League affiliate, averaging 15.3 points and 0.9 steals while knocking down 2.1 three-pointers per game.
He’s an curious fit for the Lakers, however, who will already be giving extended looks to second overall pick Brandon Ingram and sophomore forward Anthony Brown during play this July. However, Brown struggled mightily for much of last season and an impressive showing by Wilson could make him a viable contender for Brown’s roster spot.
Nonetheless, Wilson has long been considered an NBA-caliber talent and, after two successful stints in the D-League, he may be looking to take that next step—and he certainly has the physical tools to do it. With a seven-foot wingspan and 40-inch max vertical leap, he fits the mold of a modern NBA wing defender, though he’ll have issues guarding small-ball fours at the professional level.
On the offensive end, he’s really taken strides as a pick-and-pop player and perimeter threat. After shooting just 32.7 percent from behind the arc in his final year at Marquette, Wilson clearly refined his shooting touch, bumping up his average to 39.1 percent last season for the D-League’s Texas Legends.
Alongside Ingram and Brown, Luke Walton and the Lakers could still use some insurance at the small forward position, especially considering Nick Young’s dubious future with the organization. As free agency looms, it’s hard to say who will grace the team’s roster at the start of the season, but there’s reason to believe Wilson could be in the mix.
Wilson will join Notre Dame star Zach Auguste, D-Fenders stars Jabari Brown, D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Ingram, on the Purple and Gold’s Summer League roster. The rest of the roster will be finalized in less than two weeks.
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The pieces to the rebuilding puzzle are slowly falling into place, and with so much excitement swirling around this upcoming season, our first glimpse at the 2016-17 team in Vegas will certainly be worth watching.