Complete Breakdown and Predictions for L.A. Lakers 2012 Summer League Roster

The Las Vegas Summer League is set to begin on Friday, July 13 and the Los Angeles Lakers will be one of the 24 teams in attendance. 

This set of five games is an opportunity for young players to prove themselves at a slightly-higher level than they're used to playing. Young NBA players and incoming rookies will be joining forces with foreign prospects as they all attempt to establish some name recognition. 

Some players are looking to keep their spots on the Lakers' squad while carving out bigger roles. Others are trying to just make the team and avoid the D-League or Europe. 

The official roster for the Lakers has yet to be released, but these nine players are going to be on it.

Read on for a complete breakdown and individual predictions. 

Schedule

Friday, July 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET against the Golden State Warriors

Saturday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET against the Sacramento Kings

Monday, July 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET against the Miami Heat

Tuesday, July 17 at 6:30 p.m. ET against the San Antonio Spurs

Thursday, July 18 at 8:30 p.m. ET against the Los Angeles Clippers

Devin Ebanks

Last Played With: Los Angeles Lakers

Position: SG/SF/PF

Experience: 2 years

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 4.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 blocks, 0.5 steals

Devin Ebanks still has a lot of developing left to do, which is part of the reason why he's back for more with the Los Angeles Lakers during Summer League. 

Due to his 6'9" frame and lanky arms, Ebanks should end up serving as the starting power forward on this squad, even if he is more suited for a small forward role. 

This past season, Ebanks earned 12 starts for L.A. and averaged 6.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game as a starter.

He's not the most efficient scorer, but his contributions on the glass are worthy of minutes. With his athleticism, he should be able to make an impact against less-experienced players than himself. 

That said, don't expect a lot of output from Ebanks in this set of games. 

Christian Eyenga

Last Played With: Los Angeles Lakers

Position: SF

Experience: 2 years

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 2.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.7 blocks

Christian Eyenga came over to the Los Angeles Lakers along with Ramon Session, but only appeared in the final regular season game for his new team. 

Eyenga has absolutely insane hops, but he's still more of an athlete playing basketball than a basketball player with great athleticism. That's a dangerous description for a player because the ones that qualify for it typically haven't had to develop their skills as much as they should have. 

The small forward is going to make a few highlight plays during Summer League, but he's still too raw to have a consistent output. Expect a few monstrous blocks and a few dunks with potential to show up on SportsCenter, but not much else. 

Until he learns how to rebound and play defense, Eyenga's impact is going to be minimized. 

Andrew Goudelock

Last Played With: Los Angeles Lakers

Position: PG/SG

Experience: 1 year

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 4.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.1 steals, 0.0 blocks

Andrew Goudelock had a nice stretch of games during the middle of his rookie season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite scoring in double figures for four of five games at the end of January and the beginning of February, he wasn't able to carve out a role. 

The big point guard still has an incredible shot, particularly from long-range where his shot can be taken comfortably from well behind the three-point line. 

Goudelock's biggest struggles come when he's asked to create his own shot or play any defense at all. He may put up some "Goude-y" numbers during Summer League, but he won't be too much of an asset across the board. 

Darius Johnson-Odom

Last Played With: Marquette 

Position: PG/SG

Experience: Rookie

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 18.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.1 blocks

Darius Johnson-Odom was the Los Angeles Lakers' top pick of the 2012 NBA draft after they bought his rights from the Dallas Mavericks (who selected him at No. 55.)

A solid shooter who compensates for his challenges in the height department with never-ending bursts of quickness, Johnson-Odom is listed as a combo guard right now. That said, he's probably going to end up developing into an undersized shooting guard because his passing skills are rather lackluster. 

DJO is a solid shot-creator, but he also has the tendency to put his head down and limit his options when driving to the basket. 

He should be the sixth man on this Summer League roster, coming in and providing a scoring punch off the bench. He will most likely start at shooting guard out of necessity. 

Julian Khazzouh

Last Played With: Sydney Kings

Position: PF/C

Experience: Rookie

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 16.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 2.1 blocks

Julian Khazzouh brings something to the table that no one else can: He was cast in a Star Wars movie. 

In Revenge of the Sith, the 6'11" big man was cast as either Lachichuk, Guanta, Grakchawwaa or Eugroothwa. No one is quite sure which Wookiee the rookie was. It was  worked into his current nickname, which is unsurprisingly "Wookiee." 

Amazingly enough, there is more information about him on IMDB than NBADraft.net and DraftExpress combined. 

During the NBA lockout, fellow Australian Andrew Bogut spoke about Khazzouh: 

"

The transition is very tough and there's a reason for that. Khazzouh has a chance but he has to put on a lot more size to go to the NBA. He needs some bulk. He gets away with it in the NBL because there's no true centres and he's the most talented guy we've got here.

"

The Sydney Kings were terrible this past season, which makes Khazzouh's numbers less impressive and more impressive at the same time. While he was putting up empty stats, he was constantly double-teamed and still shot over 50 percent from the field. 

Khazzouh's defense needs a lot of work, but he should be able to make some noise as a backup power forward. 

Darius Morris

Last Played With: Los Angeles Lakers

Position: PG

Experience: 1 year

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 2.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.0 blocks, 0.1 steals

I wanted the Los Angeles Lakers to give Darius Morris the starting job from the get-go during his rookie season, seeing as he was fairly NBA-ready coming out of Michigan and the Lakers had almost no one at the position at the time. 

Obviously, that didn't happen and now Morris is back at Summer League, where he should serve as the starting point guard for the squad. 

Morris is a pure point guard with great passing skills, and he should be able to make his teammates look significantly better in Las Vegas. He only played 19 games during his rookie season recording only 21 assists. 

Look for Morris to exceed the total during this set of games as he earns unofficial MVP honors on the squad. 

Toure' Murry

Last Played With: Wichita State

Position: SG

Experience: Rookie

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 12.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, 1.3 steals

Toure' Murry went undrafted in the 2012 NBA draft, but he's latched onto the Los Angeles Lakers' Summer League roster as he looks to make it to The Association. 

Unless something drastically changes, I just can't see that happening. 

With Darius Johnson-Odom, Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock all competing with him for playing time, minutes are going to be quite hard to come by for the former Wichita State shooting guard. 

Murry is a solid passer, but he doesn't have a great three-point shot and he struggles with turnovers, especially since he wasn't that heavily used in college and still coughed up the ball quite a bit. 

He could surprise, but I doubt it. 

Robert Sacre

Last Played With: Gonzaga

Position: C

Experience: Rookie

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 11.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.4 blocks, 0.4 steals

Let's just say that Mr. Irrelevant from 2012 isn't going to make quite the same impact that Isaiah Thomas did for the Sacramento Kings after he was drafted at No. 60 in 2011. 

Robert Sacre is a solid all-around player, but he doesn't excel in many areas. His defense is above average, but he's a notoriously poor rebounder for his seven-foot frame and he struggles on the offensive end of the court. 

The former Gonzaga Bulldog will most likely start at center for the Summer League team, given the relative inexperience of Greg Somogyi and Julian Khazzouh at this level, and he'll put up some numbers. 

However, Sacre will really have to impress if he's going to make a competitive Lakers' big-league roster. 

Greg Somogyi

Last Played With: UC Santa Barbara

Position: C

Experience: Rookie

2011-2012 Per-Game Stats: 3.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 1.6 blocks, 0.1 steals

If Greg Somogyi couldn't make much of an impact for UC Santa Barbara, then it's tough to imagine him making a bigger one during Summer League. 

The 7'3" big man wasn't able to average even five points or rebounds per game as a senior for the Gauchos. I'd be shocked if he upped his numbers significantly during what should be a brief, five-game stint with the Lakers. 

His height is his biggest asset and allows him to be a reliable shot-blocking presence and a decent threat on the boards. That's about it though. 

Most likely behind Robert Sacre and Julian Khazzouh on the depth chart, don't expect Somogyi to get many minutes. 

If he wants to continue his professional basketball career, he'll have to do so in Europe after Summer League. 

Expected Lineup

Starting Point Guard: Darius Morris

Starting Shooting Guard: Darius Johnson-Odom

Starting Small Forward: Christian Eyenga

Starting Power Forward: Devin Ebanks

Starting Center: Robert Sacre

Sixth Man: Andrew Goudelock

Other Bench Players: Julian Khazzouh, Toure' Murry and Greg Somogyi