The Lakers were certainly quiet during the NBA Draft this year. Not having a selection until deep into the second round, they went for a promising player from a succesfull program in Kentucky's Joe Crawford. Nothing is guaranteed for Crawford in terms of a contract or a making the team, so he has everything to prove and everything to gain by making a successful showing in Las Vegas with the opening game on Friday against Detroit. Joe will be joined by Koby Karl, who will try to show that he needs to be kept on the roster next year after being shuttled back and forth to the D League last year. Cedric Bozeman, out of UCLA, had a short stint with Atlanta and is the type of tall PG that Coach Jackson likes. James White, who many believed would one day make it in the NBA is looking for a job and features a high fly act. Dayton's Brian Roberts who lit up the March Madness tournament last year with his prolific outside shooting went updrafted but will be trying to show that he can replace Karl.
Other notables include Marcelius Kemp out of Nevada, Davon Jefferson from USC, and Lorenzo Mata-Real from UCLA. A surprise addition is Yi Li from China. He often plays with Sun Yue who might be joining the Lakers this year. Yi Li at 6'9" is the same height as Sun Yue who plays PG, but Yi Li is a forward.
So we have a pretty good lineup but very few if any roster spots to offer any of the stand outs that might shine during the very short league. These players are mostly hoping just to get an invite to the Lakers Pre Season Camp and another opportunity to show they belong. Good Luck fellas.
JamFan
