The Los Angeles Lakers have a history of finding diamonds in the rough in the undrafted free agent market with Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso being notable examples.
Quincy Olivari is hoping to be next in line as the former Xavier guard signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers after going undrafted earlier this summer.
Olivari flashed some of his potential during Summer League but only got limited minutes. That means he has to impress the organization during offseason workouts to get some looks during training camp and the preseason.
In an interview with Lakers Nation’s Trevor Lane, Olivari discussed what exactly he has been trying to show the front office in recent weeks.
“I have been able to continue to show that not only can I shoot, I can affect the game outside of scoring,” he said. “It’s something that is important for someone in my role because they aren’t looking for a scorer, they’re looking for someone that can play a role alongside the star players that they already have and every day we play five-on-five, I’m able to showcase that. Showcase my defense, showcase my reads, just showcase my energy. Because it’s not gonna be often that I have the ball in my hands like it was college. But when I do have the ball in my hands, am I effective? And when I don’t have the ball in my hands, and I still affecting the game?”
If Olivari is gonna make it as an NBA player then he will need to improve defensively, and he feels that is one thing he has worked hard on this summer.
“I definitely will say, I wanna say my defense. But I only say that in the sense because I don’t really get to show it and that was kind of one of the cons on my scouting report going into the draft, was my defense was iffy. So just kind of going in there and just showing that I wanna play defense and I’m willing to learn and that it’s something that I can do. And with my body frame, my conditioning, with my IQ, I’m able to do that at a high level. So definitely buying more into the defender role, disruptor role and showing that I can affect the game outside of scoring is huge,” Olivari said.
“Like I said in my first interview, you can never learn too much. So IQ, for sure. Every day I’m asking questions, trying to see why the coaches like to do this when it comes to defensive scheme, offensive schemes and what are ways that I can get better as a defender or the reads I can make on offense and trying to become a better basketball player from there. But I would say defense and definitely IQ.”
The Lakers have a full roster so Olivari likely won’t be on the parent team to begin the season. If he can continue developing at the G League level though then he may get an opportunity in the future given his stellar outside shooting ability.
Quincy Olivari: Austin Reaves has stood out during Lakers workouts
Quincy Olivari also spoke with us about who has stood out during the Lakers’ offseason workouts, and he did not hesitate to name Austin Reaves.
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