The Lakers’ 2015-16 regular season will not start for another four months. The NBA schedule will likely become finalized in another month. But next week, the Lakers will see an early glimpse on what their team will look like when their Las Vegas summer league squad will play.
Point guard D’Angelo Russell will play professionally for the first time since the Lakers drafted him last week with the No. 2 pick. Julius Randle will play for the first time since suffering a season-ending right leg injury in the team’s season opener. Jordan Clarkson will suit up in hopes of building off a promising rookie season in which he made the NBA All-Rookie first team. The Lakers other draft picks in power forward Larry Nance Jr. and small forward Anthony Brown will be there, too. So will power forward Tarik Black and Jabari Brown, who have non-guaranteed contracts with the Lakers.
Even when accounting for Kobe Bryant’s presence and any pending free agency moves, the aforementioned players will likely be a part of the Lakers’ regular rotation next season. Before that, they will play beginning on July 10 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Lakers assistant coach Mark Madsen will be the team’s head coach while Larry Lewis and Thomas Scott will serve as assistants, all members of Byron Scott’s coaching staff.
Joining them will include Dwight Buycks, who played on the Lakers at the end of last season before breaking his right hand on the same day his 10-day contract expired. Alabama forward Tony Mitchell, Rhode Island guard Xavier Munford, UC Irvine forward Will Davis II and Washington center Robert Upshaw fill out the rest of the roster.
Upshaw averaged 10.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 blocks through 19 games with the Huskies. But the projected first-round pick went undrafted after Fresno State and Washington kicked him off the team for violating team rules.
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