The Los Angeles Lakers are still in the process of trying to fill out the rest of their roster after making a lot of changes this offseason. The Lakers currently have 14 players under contract that are all likely to make the team but they have been looking for more players to bring into training camp to compete for that 15th spot. With that in mind the Lakers reportedly agreed to a deal with former University of Texas player Jonathan Holmes, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.
Holmes' deal with the Lakers reportedly includes a significant partial guarantee which is rare for an undrafted rookie being invited to training camp. The Lakers must really like Holmes if they were willing to give him significant guaranteed money.
Holmes played with the Boston Celtics in the summer league and actually performed very well averaging 10 points and five rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 46 percent from three. The Celtics were unable to retain him because they already have a major roster crunch and weren't going to be able to offer Holmes much of a chance to make the NBA roster. The Lakers on the other hand will give him a realistic shot of breaking training camp with the NBA team.
Holmes is a 6 foot-8 forward that played four years for Texas and ended his career with a bad season as a senior shooting only 39 percent from the field. As a junior Holmes was very good averaging 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in only 24.3 minutes per game while making 51 percent of his field goals and 33 percent of his threes. Holmes came into college as a poor three point shooter but was able to improve his stroke and is now formidable from beyond the arc.
Holmes has very good size for an NBA wing and his increased ability to shoot the ball is huge for his future as an NBA player. After his junior season Holmes was a good NBA prospect but his regression in his senior year lowered his stock big time. If Holmes can go back to the way he played two years ago he will have a good shot of making the Lakers and if he doesn't he will likely be sent to the D-League until he can find it again.
