It has been an historic off-season for the Los Angeles Lakers this summer with GM Mitch Kupchak pulling out all the stops to bring in Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Antawn Jamsion and Jodie Meeks. With the acquisition of these four players, the Lakers have vastly improved their roster across the board and will be a serious forced to be reckoned with next season.
Shortly after making the Howard deal official, the Lakers agreed to sign Meeks to a two-year deal and bring back Devin Ebanks for next season.
The addition of these up-and-coming young players will help secure the future of the franchise moving forward. Both players will have to prove their worth next season with Lakers Coach Mike Brown tinkering with rotation during training camp, preseason and early into the 2012-13 campaign.
As arguably one of the Lakers’ best additions of the off-season, Meeks will have pressure to produce results right out of the gate. With opposing defenses focused on Howard, Nash and Pau Gasol, Meeks will almost certainly get his fair share of open shots from beyond the arc with Kobe Bryant on the bench.
One of the main reasons the Lakers’ front office was sold on Meeks was his shooting touch from outside. As a career 37 percent three-point shooter, the former Philadelphia 76ers guard will look to be the team’s biggest threat from outside.
As for Ebanks, the 23-year-old small forward will try to make an impression on the Lakers’ coaching staff once again. It was rumored that Ebanks was looking for more of a long-term deal with the Lakers, but apparently is content with trying to prove himself once more with a one-year deal on a legitimate NBA title contender.
Unlike Meeks, Ebanks will have some competition at small forward this season with Metta World Peace, Earl Clark and Jamison all sharing time at the position. There’s a chance that Ebanks might not get much of shot to prove his worth to the team with all these players competing for minutes on the floor.
After passing physicals on Monday, the Lakers made the signing of Meeks and Ebanks official via press release:
“The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent guard Jodie Meeks, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released. In addition, the team has also re-signed forward Devin Ebanks.”
