Lakers News: Latest Buzz Surrounding Los Angeles for 2016 Opening Week

A new era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball kicks off Wednesday night when the team takes the floor without Kobe Bryant to battle the Houston Rockets. The face of the franchise's retirement leaves a void new head coach Luke Walton hopes one of his young stars eventually fills.

The Lakers feature an impressive group of promising players, led by Brandon Ingram, D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle. Now the question is how quickly the rebuilding efforts can turn a corner and get the team back on the path toward contention in the Western Conference.

The evolution won't happen overnight, but signs of progress should be on display after Los Angeles went 17-65 last season. For now, let's check out some of the latest news and comments surrounding the team with the new campaign set to get underway.

                                              

Thomas Robinson Earns Roster Berth Robinson long looked like a future frontcourt stalwart before the Sacramento Kings drafted him with the fifth overall pick in 2012. Scout rated him as a 5-star prospect coming out of high school and, after steady development, he averaged 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds during his final year at Kansas.

He's never found his footing in the NBA, though. The 2012 Big 12 Player of the Year played for five teams across his first four seasons in the league. None of those stops resulted in an extensive role as he's averaged just 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 265 career games.

Robinson signed with the Lakers in September and did enough during training camp and the preseason to earn a place on the final 15-man roster. Serena Winters of Lakers Nation passed along comments from Walton, who praised the power forward's effort to make the squad:

Then you assume that once you get to a more structured setting that you'd ...

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