The Los Angeles Lakers made another addition to their roster for training camp on Monday when they signed undrafted center Robert Upshaw to a deal. Upshaw is the 18th player on the Lakers roster heading into training camp, and although he has a lot of talent he is reportedly highly unlikely to make the opening night roster, according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.
Upshaw played for the Lakers summer league team but didn't make much of an impression as he only played 11.5 minutes per game and averaged 1.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in five contests. Upshaw is 21 years old and has an immense amount of upside, but he has had off-the-court issues in the past which made many teams shy away from him at draft time.
Upshaw started his college career at Fresno State but was dismissed from the basketball program after one season for violating team rules. Upshaw then decided to transfer to Washington for his second season of eligibility, and after sitting out a year he played in 19 games before being dismissed from the program midseason, again for violating team rules.
Upshaw could have chosen to transfer again after his second dismissal, but he instead decided to become an early entrant in the NBA Draft and went unselected. Before being dismissed from Washington, the 7-foot center was a force as he averaged 10.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game. The 4.5 blocks per game were first in the entire nation.
Upshaw has the potential to be a game changing player on the defensive end at the NBA level, but in order for that to happen he will have to figure out his off-the-court issues and improve his offensive game big time. As it stands now, the Lakers have Roy Hibbert as their starting center with Tarik Black as the backup and Robert Sacre also expected to make the team.
The former Washington Husky has an uphill battle to try and make the Lakers opening day roster, but if he shows in training camp just how good he can be he might be able to beat out Sacre for a spot considering the huge difference in upside between the two players. The worst-case scenario for Upshaw though is likely a season in the D-League with the Lakers affiliate, which wouldn't be the worst thing for him.
