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South Bay Lakers: Training Camp roster complete, Metta World Peace hired and more

By Shereen Rayan

EL SEGUNDO, CA - SEPTEMBER 25: The new training facility of Los Angeles Lakers seen during media day September 25, 2017, in El Segundo, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
EL SEGUNDO, CA - SEPTEMBER 25: The new training facility of Los Angeles Lakers seen during media day September 25, 2017, in El Segundo, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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This is going to be a fun season for the South Bay Lakers, new look, new coaches, new players, and it’s going to be lit!

South Bay Lakers hire Metta World Peace

The General Manager of the South Bay Lakers, Nick Mazzella, announced today that he hired Metta World Peace as his team’s Player Development Coach. That’s great news for the team and Peace, he loves to coach and has so much experience to mentor these young players. While on the Lakers, Peace was voted as the Teammate of the Year by his peers last season.

Coaching Staff

The South Bay Lakers also added some new coaches, while retaining head coach Coby Karl and assistants Isaiah Fox and Brian Walsh. Karl and Mazzella hired Sean Nolen (University of Northern Colorado basketball alum) as Assistant Coach, promoted Dane Johnson to Assistant Coach and Nick Lagios to Basketball Operations Coordinator. They also hired Anthony Beaumont as Video Coordinator.

Karl led his team to a Pacific Division title last season and a G-League record for the best start in league history (team posted a 24-6 record).

Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers /

Los Angeles Lakers

The Team

The South Bay Lakers roster includes 16 players.

Have you ever heard the name Frank Nitty? Frank Session? Franklin Session? Well then, you have never been to the Drew League in Compton to take in Birdies Revenge and what they had to offer fans.

Franklin “Nitty” Session is listed on the South Bay Lakers G-League training camp roster, and that makes this Lakers fan ecstatic.

With last season’s D-Fenders point guard Josh Magette landing a two-way contract for his hometown team the Atlanta Hawks, there was an opening for an exciting, prolific dribbler and scorer; enter Nitty as his teammates call him.

Nitty was voted the unanimous Drew League MVP. Along with the rapper The Game, 6’10 lefty point forward Jarion Henry who (will play in Canada for the South Bay Riptides) and Marcus Bell (will play in Angola) became undefeated champions.

The team went undefeated winning 16 games and beating a team in the finals with four NBA players. The Drew League is a Pro-Am league in Compton which includes many famous NBA players such as James Harden, Andre Drummond, Lou Williams, Nick Young, and JaVale McGee.

Here is my interview with Session in Week 11. This guy is full of energy usually playing the entire game.

In addition to Session, the South Bay Lakers drafted five new players in this order: Scott Machado (Iona College/Brazil pro point guard), Ian Baker (New Mexico State, undrafted point guard), Jerome Frink (6-foot-7 Forward), Michael Lyons (Air Force 2013), and Robert Heyer (Boise State 2015).

Note, to get into the G-League NBA Draft you have to be invited to try out and then a team has to submit your name into the draft. This means that one player may try out for many teams. As it stands, they have to pay for the privilege to try out unless they get invited by the team. I know for a fact there were a few Drew League players trying out for the team, but they were told that only two of the 60 at the event would make it to the next level.

More from Lakers News

A lot of players who play overseas try out for the G-League even though they usually play less. With the D-League to the G-League transformation due to the new deal with Gatorade, there is more money to pay players and two new two-way contracts, which allow players to be called up without additional contracts administration.

On the South Bay Lakers, the two two-way players are last years D-League MVP and D-Fender Vander Blue and Lakers Summer League sensation, Alex Caruso.

Caruso entered the NBA Draft in 2016 out of Texas A&M but was undrafted. He spent his first year out of college playing in the D-League with the Oklahoma City Blue.

Travis Wear, out of UCLA, returns for a second season with the South Bay Lakers. Wear played on the Lakers Summer League team and played a solid role. You can tell he has been working on his three-pointer as he tries to become a more versatile big-man. Also returning is Andre Ingram, who won the NBA D-League three-point contest a year ago.

The team also added V.J. Beachem (6-foot-8 200-pound forward out of Notre Dame) and Stephen Zimmerman (7-foot, 240-pound center out of UNLV) as affiliate players from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Personally, I am going to miss Julian Jacobs, who is now playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers G-League team this season.

Next: Los Angeles Lakers: 3 standouts vs New Orleans Pelicans

This is going to be a fun season in the new Lakers Practice Facility, and we cannot wait to bring you more in-depth information from the first preseason game this Sunday, October 29th, at 5 pm, with Media Day on November 2nd after the roster has been solidified.

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