Lakers: 5 Things to Watch at Summer League 2016

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July 5, 2016; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers draft pick Ivica Zubac speaks to media at Toyota Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Just How Ready is Zubac?

Coming into the 2016 NBA Draft, Ivica Zubac was considered a pretty easy first round prospect that many people expected to be selected in the 20-25 range. However, the youngster’s insistence to come over to the NBA this year caused many teams to shy away from drafting him, thus leaving him available for the Lakers to nab at No. 32. Now the big Croatian national will head to Vegas with the Purple and Gold with a great deal to prove.

Obviously the big man has tremendous size and girth for a player of just 19 years old, standing at 7-1 and being listed at 265 pounds. And by all accounts, the center has great skills for a player with his size at his age. However, Summer League will be the first time that the second round pick has played against this level of competition—even if it is just Summer League.

Subsequently, Lakers fans and the organization will start to get a better picture of just where the big man is in terms of his skills at an NBA level right now, where he needs to work to develop, and even what kind of role he can play for the team immediately this season behind Timofey Mozgov. This is going to be a big week and a half for Zubac as he could really prove a lot of things and only get Lakers fans even more excited about having him along for the ride.

Next: No. 2 Coach Mermuys

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