The Los Angeles Lakers currently have one of the youngest rosters in the NBA, and with that comes the need for development.
Since Lakers head coach Luke Walton does not have enough minutes to hand out to every player on the roster, the Lakers have a G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, that they can send players to get consistent minutes to help with their development.
Second-round pick from this past draft Thomas Bryant has spent time with South Bay these past couple weeks, and has been playing extremely well, averaging 20.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 30.3 minutes per game in four appearances.
Because of his play, Bryant has earned himself a spot back on the NBA roster, as the Lakers have reportedly recalled him and assigned rookie guard Josh Hart and second-year center Ivica Zubac to South Bay, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
The Lakers have assigned Josh Hart and Ivica Zubac to @SouthBayLakers and recalled Thomas Bryant.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 14, 2017
Hart has appeared in 11 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 2.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 13.6 minutes per game. While he has been impressive on the defensive end of the floor, he has failed to score in his last four games and has lost out of minutes to two-way player Vander Blue in L.A.’s last two contests, so sending him down to get some extended playing time makes sense.
Zubac, who was impressive in limited action last season, but had a rough Summer League and preseason, has only appeared in two games so far this season, so he also can be a beneficiary of some time on the floor, which the South Bay Lakers can give him.
Players like Hart, Zubac and Bryant will likely be going back and forth between the two teams a lot this season, as that is just part of the process of developing into a consistent NBA player.
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