Before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 23, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired two players in exchange for Lou Williams and Marcelo Huertas in separate deals with the Houston Rockets. Corey Brewer was packaged with a first-round draft pick from the Rockets for Williams, and Tyler Ennis headed over to Los Angeles in the swap for Huertas.
Although Brewer is under contract for one more season, Ennis’ future is uncertain as he will hit the free agent market this summer. The 22-year-old is hoping he won’t be on the move again as he wants to remain with the Lakers, via Mark Medina of the OC Register:
“Anytime you go through the journey I’ve been through so far in the league and then have an opportunity to play and have people welcome me with open arms, that’s something you want to stay with,” Ennis said. “Obviously there’s a lot going on, but if the opportunity to stay is there, they’ll definitely be at the top of the list.”
Ennis was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The Syracuse product has bounced around the league quite a bit since coming out of college as he’s already played for four teams in three seasons.
The young point guard is being given his opportunity to shine in Los Angeles as he currently averages a career-best 15.9 minutes per game. During the final stretch of the 2016-17 NBA season, head coach Luke Walton and the Lakers brass are evaluating talent with Ennis starting to show some promise.
In 19 games with the Lakers thus far, Ennis is averaging 6.9 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 37.5 from beyond the arc. Although not eye-popping numbers as a whole, Ennis has come on strong as of late scoring in double digits in five of the last seven games highlighted by his career-high 19 points in the win over the San Antonio Spurs.
