One of the players most responsible for the Los Angeles Lakers winning the Las Vegas Summer League Championship was guard Vander Blue. The reigning G-League MVP was not only a good scorer for the Lakers in Vegas, he also showed he can set up teammates and fit in with the Lakers ball movement style of play.
The Lakers have the majority of their roster set, with 14 players under contract, but will fill out their final spot with a player who impresses them in training camp.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, Blue will get his chance to earn a spot on the team as he has agreed to a partially guaranteed deal with the Lakers:
Sources: The Lakers and G League MVP and summer league guard Vander Blue have agreed on a partially guaranteed deal.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 29, 2017
Blue has been one of the best players in the G-League for the last couple of years and even had a brief call-up to the Lakers for two games back in 2015. Now Blue will get the opportunity to be with the Lakers for a full season, something he has been wanting for a while.
In winning G-League MVP, Blue averaged 24.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 35.1 percent from three-point range. He followed that up with a good performance in Summer League where he averaged 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field.
Blue will get an honest chance at the final roster spot, but being part of the regular rotation would be a challenge. Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jordan Clarkson, Josh Hart and Tyler Ennis will all be battling for minutes in the backcourt, making it tough for Blue to crack the rotation if he were to make the team.
