Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak shared his thoughts on his purchase of Johnson-Odom from the Dallas Mavericks (via ESPN's Dave McMenamin):
"You’ll like this kid, You’ll like him a lot. He plays really, really hard. Ridiculously athletic. Powerful. Physical. Very, very aggressive. Competitive. He’s fun to watch and I think he’ll be a really, really good player leading into training camp."
Kupchak notes he had Darius Johnson-Odom in the mid-to-late 30's on his own draft board. After falling to the 55th pick, Kupchak pounced and bought the rights to Johnson-Odom for an estimated $500,000.
The Lakers other pick—Robert Sacre—is a 7'0'' 260 lb center from Gonzaga who averaged 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds his senior season for the Bulldogs.
Both of these youngsters will have to perform well in Summer League play and get an invitation to training camp before being considered part of the Lakers full-time roster. At that point, the Lakers will negotiate a contract if they see a future for their two draft picks next season.
Roster in Flux
It's conceivable that Mitch Kupchak integrates both Johnson-Odom and Sacre into the team's rotation next year given the fluid roster situation this offseason.
With six Lakers players being free agents (Ramon Sessions, Matt Barnes, Troy Murphy, Jordan Hill, Darius Morris and Devin Ebanks) this summer, Lakers management has serious personnel decisions to make.
Kupchak could attempt to bring back all, none, or just some of these players for the 2012-13 season.
This uncertainty definitely opens the door for these two draft picks who, starting today, w...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
