The Lakers’ front office has been weighing their options in free agency over the past few weeks. Quite a few names have surfaced as potential targets for the storied NBA franchise, but Harris has seemingly stuck out amongst the rest.
Harris made an impression on the Lakers’ coaching staff with his performance during the Summer League. The rookie forward averaged 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game with Gonzaga last season.
During the Summer League, Harris averaged 10.2 points and 5.6 rebounds convincing the coaching staff the 24-year-old would be a good addition to the team.
The Lakers announced the signing in the following press release.
[showhide type=”pressrelease”]EL SEGUNDO – The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Elias Harris to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.Harris, a two-time All-West Coast Conference Team selection out of Gonzaga University, helped the Bulldogs to a 32-3 record in 2012-13 and the school’s first No. 1 national ranking, averaging 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 27.8 minutes in 34 games. Harris’ 1,857 career points ranks fourth on the Gonzaga all-time scoring list and his 979 career rebounds are the second most in school history. In four seasons at Gonzaga, the 6-8 forward averaged 13.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 28.0 minutes in 135 games.
A German native, Harris played for Team Germany in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey and in the 2009 European Championships held in Poland.
Most recently, Harris started all five games for the Lakers’ 2013 Summer League team in Las Vegas, averaging 10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 27.0 minutes.[/showhide]