Lakers Sign Andrew Goudelock Following Kobe Bryant's Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers lost Kobe Bryant to a torn Achilles on Friday night for the next six to nine months, which left the organization with a roster spot to fill with the playoffs on the horizon.

The Lakers filled that spot by signing Andrew Goudelock to a contract on Sunday evening according to the teams official Twitter account:

He is eligible to play tonight against the San Antonio Spurs.

Goudelock’s sole NBA action came as a member of the Lakers during the 2011-12 campaign, when the College of Charleston product appeared in 40 contests and averaged 4.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 10.5 minutes of play.

He was drafted by Los Angeles in the second round of the 2011 draft, getting picked No. 46 overall after averaging 23.4 points during his senior season with the Cougars. The “Mini Mamba” spent most of his rookie campaign bouncing between the D-League and playing backup PG for L.A. while Steve Blake was injured.

It’ll be interesting to see if Goudelock is able to translate his success in the D-League to the NBA on such short notice, as the 6’3”, 200-pound prospect is averaging 21.1 points and 5.2 assists while shooting 48 percent from the field for the Sioux Falls Skyforce and Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

The 24-year-old will be able to soak minutes at either guard position, as he’s a willing facilitator on top of being a capable scorer. He’s certainly not going to replace the 27.3 points per game that Bryant was bringing to the table, but the Lakers could do much worse in signing a bench player.

With the Mamba out, expect coach Mike D’Antoni to lean on his big men in the postseason. Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Antawn Jamison, Earl Clark and Metta World Peace are all in line for big minutes, while Steve Nash (when healthy), Jodie Meeks and Blake should take up most of the playing time in the backcourt.

If Goudelock does see the court, we imagine it will be at the 2, where he can try and spark the offense and give Meeks a breather for extremely short stretches.

With Bryant out and Goudelock in, the Lakers aren’t anywhere close to the same team. However, Coach D’Antoni has more than proven his worth as an on-the-fly micromanager, so expect to see some interesting and effective lineups from this squad in the first round of the 2013 playoffs.