The Los Angeles Lakers are hosting a free agent mini-camp this week, but*we already knew that. Unlike most of the other teams bringing in a crop of young players for workouts this week, however, the Lakers have decided to go with a healthy dose of veterans.
The Lakers will likely have 10 players under contract heading into next season,*according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin*--*and that's not counting the three second round picks they added in last week's Draft.**
Considering the team is rumored to go after a few well-known free agents, that leaves just a couple of available roster spots to fight for betweeen the 21 players in attendance at the El Segundo practice facility this week.
Along with second round picks Darius Morris, Andrew Goudelock and Ater Majok -- the latter of which will be encouraged to continue to develop overseas for the time being, according to McMenamin's story -- a solid array of NBA and D-League veterans peppered the list of invitees handed out to the Lakers media in attendance.
McMenamin*reported*that NBA veterans*Bobby Simmons, Gerald Green, Jermareo Davidson, Randolph Morris, D.J. Strawberry, Bobby Brown, J.R. Giddens, Cedric Simmons, Steven Smith and Othello Hunter were all in attendance.*
Green is probably the name that's going to jump out to most fans as he played for the Lakers' Summer League entry in Vegas last season, was a first round pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2005 NBA Draft and has 181 games of NBA experience despite spending the last two seasons in Russia. Hopefully new coach Mike Brown matched him up with Giddens in a battle of former dunk contest all-stars.
Alongside the NBA veterans, there was a handful of D-League and overseas veterans expected to make an appearance in El Segundo (the city the returning D-Fenders will call home). Josh Akognon, Eric Boateng, Trey Gilder, Leo Lyons, Kevin Palmer and*Terrence Roberts*represents an interesting mix of wings and bigs that surely would have found themselves on a Summer League roster next month had the looming lockout not caused its cancellation.
The other players --*Arizona's*Jamelle Horne*and St. John's Justin Burrell --*joined Morris, Goudelock and Majok as rookies representing at the two-day mini-camp. Both Horne and Burrell are intriguing prospects the Lakers might look to stash on their D-League squad in hopes of developing them for usage on the big club down the line.
If nothing else, some interesting runs should be witnessed while the Lakers brass gets a last look at actual players in the gym prior to the looming lockout.
