A lot of players in the NBA today grew up watching Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal winning championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. As a result of watching these two future Hall of Famers crush the competition, there’s a good majority of these players that have wanted to wear purple and gold at some point in their careers.
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Newcomer Brandon Bass can be added to the list of players that wanted to end with the Lakers and actually made it happen this summer. Bass talked about wanting to be a Laker all throughout his college days with LSU, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times:
Brandon Bass on playing for the Lakers: "All I thought about is me playing in the purple and gold when I was in college." Bass went to LSU.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 22, 2015
Bass has bounced around the league quite a bit after being drafted out of LSU by the New Orleans Hornets with the 33rd pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. The forward only lasted two seasons in New Orleans before ultimately signing with the Dallas Mavericks in 2007 on a two-year deal and then signing a four-deal with the Orlando Magic in 2009.
The veteran power forward has only lasted two years with each team he’s played with until landing with the Boston Celtics in 2011 for Glen Davis and Von Wafer. Bass made an impression in Boston with some solid seasons.
After four seasons in Boston, the 30-year-old will get another fresh start with the team he’s wanted to play for all along. Bass has a legitimate shot to be the starter in Los Angeles while picking up where Ed Davis and Jordan Hill left off.
Although the Lakers brass ultimately want Julius Randle in the starting role at power forward, Bass may begin his stint with the Lakers playing alongside fellow newcomer Roy Hibbert as a starter in the frontcourt.
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