The Los Angeles Lakers front office recently signed both Tyler Ennis and Thomas Bryant to contracts, bringing their roster to 14 guaranteed players. In between those deals, they also signed Vander Blue to a partially guaranteed deal to bring him in to training camp.
Blue played for the team’s D-League affiliate Los Angeles D-Fenders the last three seasons in addition to being called up to the NBA team for a pair of games in 2015.
He also played for the team’s Las Vegas Summer League squad last month, and was a big part in the Lakers taking home the Summer League Championship.
Despite signing his first true NBA contract, Blue is not satisfied as he is working out three times a day in Miami until the start of training camp, via Chris Palmer of Spectrum SportsNet:
Newest Laker Vander Blue celebrates his deal by starting three-a-day workouts in Miami. Pool work to increase that vert. "I'll be so ready." pic.twitter.com/hWCwllHug8
— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) July 31, 2017
In addition to working out in the pool and the weight room, Blue has also been in the gym working on his game:
Blue then headed to the gym. This double team sideline drill is designed to work on ballhandling in tight spaces. Some tricky handles. pic.twitter.com/jdkuHO1aV6
— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) July 31, 2017
Blue won the G-League MVP this past season, as he 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.
With only one roster spot up for grabs, Blue will be battling for that with whatever other players the Lakers front office decides to bring in for camp. But with Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, Jordan Clarkson and Josh Hart all ahead of him on the depth chart, it will be hard for Blue to crack the rotation even if he does make the roster.