One of the Los Angeles Lakers under the radar acquisitions before the start of training camp was signing power forward Thomas Robinson, who was the fifth overall pick in 2012, to a training camp contract.
In four NBA seasons, Robinson has played with five teams and has never really fit in anywhere he’s played.
Thinking Los Angeles could be the place he finds his niche, the Lakers brought him in for the preseason and in limited minutes he has played well.
According to Mark Medina of Inside Socal, Lakers head coach Luke Walton praised Robinson for what he has brought to this Lakers team:
“He never takes plays off,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “He’s a great guy. You want him around. He’s a monster on the offensive glass and has a great attitude with everything we’ve done.”
Robinson has played in four of the team’s six preseason games so far, and in just eight minutes per contest he has averaged 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 71.4 percent from the field.
While he would not say if Robinson is going to make the team, Walton said that he is a great guy to have around during camp:
“The way he was working and the way he was winning, we thought we at least have to bring this guy to camp,” Walton said of Robinson. “He looks great out here.”
The Lakers are allowed to carry 15 players on the active roster, so Robinson will likely be battling guys like Metta World Peace, Yi Jianlian, Ivica Zubac, Anthony Brown and Tarik Black for the final few roster spots.
In his career Robinson has averaged 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game.
