The Los Angeles Lakers came up with an intriguing crop of players following the 2022 NBA Draft.
Among them was Vanderbilt guard Scotty Pippen Jr., who agreed to a two-way contract with the team after he went undrafted. Known as a scorer in college, Pippen will be able to provide some outside shooting and off-the-bounce shotmaking to spruce up the Laker offense.
Even though he signed a two-way deal, Pippen isn’t necessarily guaranteed a spot with the parent team and thus he is focused on competing on both ends of the floor to earn his keep.
“Just continue to keep competing,” Pippen said when asked what he will do to keep his two-way contract. “Bring stuff defensively, bring stuff offensively. Come in and work hard and just compete is the main thing, defensively and offensively.”
As far how he views himself as a player, Pippen noted he is able to make plays offensively while still trying to be a disrupted on defense.
“I would say I’m just a playmaker offensively, someone that can just get a bucket as well as make my teammates better with passes, get my teammates open looks. And then defensively, what I’m gonna bring to this next level is just being able to press, picking up and creating havoc on defense.”
Though undersized, no one can question the competitive edge Pippen plays with on the court, and it showed in his pre-draft workout according to Rob Pelinka. In an environment like Summer League that will serve him well and hopefully he is able to show the organization that he is a keeper.
Scotty Pippen Jr. on joining Lakers after draft
L.A.’s interest in Pippen made sense considering his skillset and it sounds like the guard is more than happy to have landed with the Lakers despite going undrafted.
“Pretty much towards the end of the draft I knew I was gonna go undrafted and I knew I was ending up here. I think it’s a great fit, just the playstyle, the coaches.
“I know a couple of the guys, I know a couple of the coaches, I’ve been living in Los Angeles. So I have connections between here and my high school coaches and stuff like that. I think it’s a great fit for me and I’m excited to be here.”
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