Chris Humphreys – USA Today Sports Images
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a pretty sad state after everything that has happened to them over the past five months. First there was the Achilles injury to Kobe Bryant that leaves his return date in the 2013-2014 NBA season still in question. Then came Dwight Howard choosing not to re-sign with the Lakers, leaving them with a shallower and much less talented frontcourt.
The Lakers have done the best that they can to try and build a solid roster with the salary cap constraints placed upon them, but that has proven to not be an easy task. This summer they have added guys like rookie Elias Harris, Wesley Johnson, Nick Young and rookie Ryan Kelly. Now Xavier Henry can be added to that list.
On Thursday it was announced by multiple news sources that the Lakers and Henry had agreed to a deal with the free-agent guard. Most likely, Henry will have to go to camp and compete for a roster spot with the rookies and a few others.
In three NBA seasons, Henry hasn’t had much of an opportunity or much success in the league. He’s appeared in 133 career games, but has started in just 18 of them and has averaged only 14.4 minutes per game. In his limited time on the floor, he has averaged only 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game on just 40.3 percent shooting and 38.9 percent three-point shooting.
The rap on the 22-year-old Henry at this point in his young career is essentially that he’s a shooter that hasn’t shown much productivity as a shooter yet in this league, which his percentages back up. If he’s going to make this Lakers team, even if they are depleted, he’s going to have to prove that he can be a successful shooter in this league. Even if that happens, it’s hard to imagine him beating out more proven guys like Young and Jodie Meeks for minutes. We shall see what happens to Henry in Laker-land, though.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.
