The annual Las Vegas Summer League is set to begin in less than a week. It gives young players the opportunity to get their first taste of pro basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the youngest teams in the league and will have a few players from last season’s squad join in the competition in Las Vegas.
Brandon Ingram, David Nwaba, and Ivica Zubac will all play as will second overall pick Lonzo Ball. Also on the roster are the Lakers three other picks from this year’s NBA Draft; Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Thomas Bryant.
The Lakers aren’t done filling out their summer league roster just yet as they are adding more potential talent including a member of the 2015 roster according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report:
I hear Alec Brown and Vander Blue will play for Lakers summer league entry in Vegas, should join the rookies w/Ball + Ingram, Nwaba, Zubac
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) June 28, 2017
Vander Blue may be familiar to Lakers fans as the Marquette University product was called up to the Lakers for the final two games of the 2015 season. In those contests Blue averaged 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists, but has been unable to find his way back to the NBA since.
That hasn’t stopped him from grinding as this past season he averaged 24.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game, being named NBA Development League MVP. Blue definitely has the skills to play at the NBA level, he just has yet to catch on with a team. He will undoubtedly be looking to make an impact this summer.
After being selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 2014 NBA Draft, Alec Brown has spent his career in the D-League. The 7’1 big man is a potential stretch-5 who averaged 10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game with the Windy City Bulls last season.
He has a nice touch to his jump shot as he shot an impressive 36.4 percent from three-point range. Given the talent in the Lakers summer team it might be difficult for him to get some quality minutes, but if he performs well during his time on the floor it could give teams a reason to give him a serious look.
