The Los Angeles Lakers announced the signing of undrafted shooting guard Michael Frazier to a multi-year contract on Tuesday morning. The Tampa, Florida native who set a Florida single-season record with 118 made three-pointers, spent three collegiate seasons at the University of Florida, where he averaged 9.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 25.7 minutes per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from beyond-the-arc.
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The 6’4″ 21-year-old Frazier, also played for the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 4.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 15.8 minutes per game over six contests (all starts).
Prior to the 2015 NBA Draft, Frazier worked out for the Lakers in a group consisting of the Lakers 27th draft pick, Larry Nance, Jr. as well as Andrew Harrison, Terry Rozier, Sir’Dominic Pointer, and Marcus Thornton. Below is a transcript of his interview with the media on June 19th, 2015.
Q: What’s the best part of your game that you showed in your Lakers pre-draft workout?
Frazier: Definitely my shooting ability, came out and shot great in drills. In terms of other parts of my game. I tried to show that I can defend multiple positions in the one-on-ones, I guarded the bigs, guarded Terry (Rozier), who’s a point guard, just tried to incorporate all those things in my game and show them that I can do a lot of things.
Q: Byron Scott is a defensive-minded head coach. What are your main strengths defensively?
Frazier: I feel like I can guard one through three. I did that in college, even guarded the four sometimes, coach trusted me to guard multiple positions. With my length and my athletic ability, I think I can guard multiple positions in the NBA
Q: Do you have a favorite all-time Laker and if so, who and why?
Frazier: Definitely Magic Johnson, because I think he was the greatest Laker ever. I also like James Worthy, I used to watch a lot of the Lakers games back in the day. My dad used to record them and we used to watch them together, but just what Magic was able to do with the ball in terms of his passing ability, there’s no one else like him.
Q: Is there a player past or present that you’ve studied film or you’ve tried to pattern your game off a little bit?
Frazier: I would say probably Bradley Beal, just because I had a chance to workout with him a couple summers ago when he came back to Florida. We’re about the same size, same athletic build. We can both shoot the ball very well and I saw myself kind of doing the same things that he does to get his shot off and things like that. I see that we have a lot of similarities in our game.
Q: Have you given much thought to what it would be like to play with a great player like Kobe Bryant?
Frazier: It would be a great opportunity. If I’m lucky enough to have that opportunity, I’m going to try to make the most of it, work my tail off. I know that he demands a lot out of his teammates and I definitely respond to that well because I’m a self-starter, I’m a self-motivator. That would not be a problem for me.
Q: Anybody who knows your game, knows you can shoot the three-ball. On average, how many shots are you getting up per day?
Frazier: Before I started [traveling for pre-draft workouts] I was probably getting up 500-600 makes a day. That’s usually my average, I try to stay sharp, but I’ve worked myself up to that. When I was little, I could barely make 100 threes in an hour, so I’ve definitely come a long way, but I like to keep my shots sharp, so I’ve got to get them up everyday.
Q: You had a lot more playing time from your freshman to your sophomore year, but what else do you think contributed to your increase in production?
Frazier: Just my time in the gym, I stayed in the gym. I was able to get a bigger opportunity to play a bigger role my sophomore year, so that’s why my minutes jumped. But that whole summer I was just in the gym working my tail off. I knew that I was going to have an opportunity to increase my minutes and I wanted to make the most of it, so that’s why I did it.
Q: What skill do you have that will best translate into the NBA?
Frazier: Definitely my shooting. I feel like I’m the best shooter in this draft and whoever takes me is getting the best shooter in this draft. I’ve shown that over the past three years in my career, so the numbers will speak for themselves.
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