Once hopes of the Los Angeles Lakers ending the playoff drought ended, the team basically held a tryout with a 10-day contract and a roster spot at their disposal. The Lakers brass chose to look to their D-League affiliate to fill the void bring up guard David Nwaba of the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
The move to bring in Nwaba turned out to be better than expected. Nwaba wasn’t just filling a seat on the bench, but rather making an impression on the coaching staff as well as his new teammates. The Cal Poly product ultimately earned a spot in the rotation and signed a multi-year contract for his efforts.
Now with the season over, Nwaba received some positive and constructive feedback from the Lakers brass in the exit interview and fully intends to showcase his skills for the team in the NBA Summer League in July, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
David Nwaba says he plans on playing in NBA Summer League.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 14, 2017
At this point, Magic Johnson and new general manager Rob Pelinka have a plan going into the NBA offseason with both men focused on improving the roster. Nwaba appears to be a part of that plan for the time being, but with his deal being non-guaranteed, he’ll have to continue to prove his worth leading up to the final cuts made in the preseason in October.
Pelinka and Johnson pointed out a few things for Nwaba to work on this summer, via Winters:
David Nwaba said he had a good meeting with Magic & Pelinka and they mentioned areas for him to improve, including jump shot & ball handling
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 14, 2017
If Nwaba can improve his game on the offensive end of the floor while maintaining a solid defensive effort on a nightly basis, the California native may have a future with this team long-term. Nwaba has impressed head coach Luke Walton as well as the coaching staff giving him a decent chance to earn a spot down the road.