There is no shortage of such players at Lakers training camp. Seriously over the salary cap, management went out of its way to stock the roster with inexpensive young, athletic, up-and-down runners and gunners in search of a second chance.
There might easily be a star in the making from among a group of Lakers newcomers that includes Nick Young, Shawne Williams, Wesley Johnson, Jordan Farmar, Xavier Henry and Marcus Landry.
It's happened at each of D'Antoni's previous two stints as head coach, in Phoenix and New York. What's to stop it from happening in Los Angeles?
Remember Eddie House, Quentin Richardson, Raja Bell, James Jones and Leandro Barbosa? They all found their calling playing under D'Antoni in Phoenix. Landry and Williams both rose from obscurity to center stage, albeit briefly, playing for D'Antoni in New York.
And, then, there was Jeremy Lin who turned the Big Apple upside down, getting a second chance with the New York Knicks and turning his opportunity into a big-time contract with the Houston Rockets.
With Dwight Howard gone, Kobe Bryant in total rehab mode and Steve Nash and Pau Gasol coming back slowly from nagging injuries, the rest of the Lakers have a golden opportunity to prove they belong and prove it on one of the biggest stages in basketball.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak explained the rationale behind the signings of players like Williams, Young, Henry and Johnson:
They’re very talented. They were drafted very high for a reason and maybe because of age or the makeup of a team or a coach, they didn’t get to grow as quick as they could have grown. So we have the roster spots, it makes for a h...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
