Lakers’ Thomas Robinson not given assurances about future as free agent

Thomas Robinson at LA Lakers Media Day at their El Segundo training facility. Photos by Brad Graverson/SCNG/The Daily Breeze/09-26-16

EL SEGUNDO –The unsettling feeling emerged once again for Thomas Robinson, who has viewed the end of an NBA season as a moment in which his future becomes murky.

But once Robinson met on Thursday with Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, general manager Rob Pelinka and coach Luke Walton, the anxiety went away. The reason? The Lakers complimented Robinson for offering endless energy off the bench while averaging 5.0 points on 53.6 percent shooting and 4.6 rebounds in 11.7 minutes off the bench in 48 appearances.

“They were impressed with the way I handled myself this year,” Robinson said. “They’re happy with that part with who I am as a person and as a player. I take that as a good thing. Hopefully it turns into me coming back as a Laker.”

Still, Robinson faces yet another uncertain future as he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“They didn’t say they did want me back,” Robinson said. “But they didn’t say I wasn’t going to come back, either.”

Robinson has craved stability after the former No. 5 pick of the 2012 NBA draft had short stops in Sacramento, (2012-13), Houston (2013), Portland (2013-14), Philadelphia (2014-15) and Brooklyn (2015-16). He recalled having a “long summer last year” in what he considered the “scariest time of my career.” Then, the Lakers invited him to their informal workouts. Robinson’s hustle impressed the Lakers enough to invite him to training camp. But he said he hardly slept until the Lakers informed him he survived the last round of roster cuts less than a week before the 2016-17 season began.

Since then, Robinson said he largely matured both in his play and accepting his role.

“I am an energy and hustle guy. That’s what I do. That’s my niche,” Robinson said. “That’s what I wake up and go in the gym and work on. That’s me. I am always going to be that player. I’m always going to be the best. I’ll be a star in my role. I don’t want to be the next Kobe, LeBron or prove I can score 30 points. I want to be established in my role and help my other teammates get off on their shots and rebounds and extra plays and things of that sort. That’s my commitment this summer to get my IQ better with the game and to lock in and become an All-Star in what I do and that’s filling the energy player.”

Robinson did not always view himself that way.

“It was one of the main reasons I was close to being out of the NBA; I didn’t understand my role,” Robinson said. “I had this quote-unquote little man syndrome where I wanted to prove to everybody that I’m not a bust. I belong in this league and I can do this. It got in the way of me becoming better at who I am as a player.”

How so?

“I hate that people think I’m not worthy of playing in this league or something. It took a while,” Robinson said. “It took four or five years to say forget what people think. This is how I’m going to feed my family, being an offensive rebounder, being an energy player, just being a good guy around the league. Once I got out of my mind I don’t care what people say or think of me anymore, I think that’s when people clicked. I would say more it’s this year when I had my back against the wall.”

While Robinson began worrying less about outside perspective, he embraced the help from Lakers coach Luke Walton in accepting a fluctuating role that entailed sporadic playing time and healthy scratches. During Thursday’s exit meeting, Robinson said Johnson, Pelinka and Walton praised him for his play while calling him to further master smaller nuances of the game.

“I plan to commit myself to being better at the mental part of the game and seeing the game a little better,” Robinson said. “I think that will take me to another level and help me and help the team.”

To do that, Robinson said he will consult veteran teammates Luol Deng and Metta World Peace. When he watched “Full Court Press” on NBA TV, he saw three out of the six coaches on the panel calling Deng the hardest player they ever played against or coached. Deng had a 14-year NBA career that entailed career averages of 15 points on 45.5 percent shooting and 6.1 rebounds.

“I was like, He’s two feet away from me,” Robinson said, chuckling. “If this is something I need to work on, why not go to Luol and try to pick his brain.”

Robinson already had done that with World Peace, whose 17-year NBA career entailed overcoming his role in the Palace Brawl both by winning an NBA title in 2010 and helping mental health charities.

“With Metta, this situation he has been through so many ups and downs of this league. Somehow he prevailed and got back and maintained to have a legendary career,” Robinson said. “I look at that as the same thing with me. I had some hurdles I had to get over in this league. It doesn’t mean it’s over. I definitely learned that part from Metta so far. I’m going to continue to try to learn from him.”

RELATED:

Lakers’ Timofey Mozgov expects to be starting center next season

Lakers’ Metta World Peace said Magic Johnson informed him he’s probably not returning

Lakers’ Nick Young suggested potential draft pick could disrupt his future

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mmedina@scng.com. Subscribe to the “We Want Tacos” podcast on iTunes.