Los Angeles Lakers: What Can the Future Hold for Devin Ebanks?

While the Los Angeles Lakers enter the NBA preseason as a clear favorite to challenge the Miami Heat for the NBA Championship, sportswriters have analyzed the type of team dynamics this basketball squad presents.

The questions are endless.

How will Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard play together? Is this just another Shaq and Kobe scenario? Will bringing in a point guard like Steve Nash create scoring opportunities that opposing defenses just won't be able to handle? How will this affect Pau Gasol? Is Metta World Peace at the end of his career?

With a formidable starting lineup, the reason the Lakers have generated so much excitement for the upcoming season stems from the sheer depth of their bench. Adding Antawn Jamison to the team was huge. Re-signing Jordan Hill brings back a dynamic player that proved valuable towards the end of last season. Steve Blake is a solid backup to Nash.

But Devin Ebanks has gone relatively ignored.

The third-year guard out of West Virginia made a name for himself last season. While his limited performance in his rookie year kept him out of the spotlight, Ebanks averaged 10 more minutes per game and really showed drastic signs of improvement.

His versatility was crucial after Metta World Peace’s suspension for his elbow against James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ebanks stepped into a forward position and looked solid in his six starts against the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs.

Backing up Kobe Bryant is no small feat. I am not only excited for what the Lakers can do next season, but also for the type of player Devin Ebanks just might become.