The Los Angeles Lakers are getting ready for Summer League and putting their roster together
Newly minted Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton went from losing the NBA Finals to landing in Los Angeles to begin his head coaching job with the Lakers.
Walton’s first order of business (or close to it) though will be taking the helm in Las Vegas for NBA Summer League. The former Lakers forward said he wants to be “heavily involved in practice” with the Summer League team, but there is also speculation that simply may not be practical and/or realistic.
Last year’s Summer League team didn’t win any trophy, but seemed pretty stacked with Jabari Brown being the most productive yet not making the Lakers roster (his spot controversially went to Metta World Peace). Brown averaged 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and one steal per game last summer.
Brown will be returning this year for Summer League:
Jabari Brown plans to play for Lakers' summer league team, according to league sources.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 25, 2016
However, you could argue this year’s team will be more talented that last year alongside Brown the way things are shaping up. No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram out of Duke and 2016 second-rounder Ivica Zubac from Croatia will join Brown. Meanwhile, D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Anthony Brown will all be headed back to Vegas. That said, Lakers fans may be disappointed as Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson are expected to sit out the summer.
Also, the roster will include undrafted free agent forward Zach Auguste out of Notre Dame, who accepted an invitation to Summer League from the Lakers. Joining Auguste as an undrafted free agent will be 7-2 French big man Moustapha Fall:
Source: Lakers invite 7'2" Frenchman Moustapha Fall to Summer League. Led ProA in blocks, shot insane 72% from 2PT.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) June 22, 2016
If you use last years roster as a baseline, that leaves about three spots to be filled. While you could expect that Tarik Black will join the team again for this year’s team in Sin City. What’s missing on the roster though are guards amongst the plethora of forwards and big men. If Walton’s planning on running a Warriors-esque system in Summer League, the ability to play small-ball will require more guards.
An interesting add in the backcourt at Summer League for Walton could be Los Angeles D-Fenders shooting guard Vander Blue along with the team in Vegas. Blue started in all 38 games last season for the D-Fenders, averaging 26.3 points, five rebounds, 3.4 assists and converted on 81 percent of his free-throws.
Perhaps another add could be Brannen Greene out of Kansas. ThoughGreene had to sit out the last two games of the NCAA Tournament due to a back injury, but he certainly should be good to go now and has the pedigree of playing for the Jayhawks under Bill Self working in his favor. Another option could be USC’s Julian Jacobs, a 6-4 guard who averaged 11.6 points, 5.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Next: Lakers: 5 Undrafted Free Agents to Target
Though the roster is taking shape in an obvious way, Walton and the Lakers need to solidify the Summer League roster as soon as possible. There are options available that were either undrafted or could be up from the D-Fenders—but the team needs to make those decisions now.