With the departure of D’Angelo Russell, the Los Angeles Lakers have to fill a need in the backcourt. The point guard position needs to be addressed with the with no real backup under contract for rookie Lonzo Ball outside of Jordan Clarkson who is better suited at shooting guard.
Fortunately, the Lakers do have a viable option in Tyler Ennis. The team acquired Ennis from the Houston Rockets in the deal involving Marcelo Huertas last February, and he played much better than expected.
Ennis will be an unrestricted free agent, and it appears the Lakers are considering re-signing him, according to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Daily News:
Right now, the Lakers don’t have a true backup point guard, but they are leaning toward re-signing Tyler Ennis, who joined the team via trade last season.
In his three seasons in the NBA since being drafted out of Syracuse by the Phoenix Suns back in 2014, Ennis has played for four teams. The Orange product has found it difficult to find any long-term security in the league, but if the Lakers are considering bringing him back, he could find a home for the foreseeable future in Los Angeles with another solid season.
As Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have made abundantly clear at this point, the Lakers are preserving their cap space for the free agency next year. The team has its sights set on bringing in a pair of superstars with Paul George and LeBron James likely being the two they’re targeting.
With that being said, Ennis will likely have to sign a two-year deal with the second year being a team option to stay. Ennis has expressed interest in staying with the Lakers, and he fits a need making this reunion a strong possibility.
