Introducing Gani Lawal
On August 3rd the Phoenix Suns inked draftee Gani Lawal to a three year contract. Lawal was picked 46th in the second round of the NBA draft by the Suns. Lawal got an extra gift from the Suns in the form of guaranteed money. Lawal’s first year salary is guaranteed while the next two years are partially guaranteed. Doing this will make Lawal a restricted free agent when the three years are up. The Suns will have adequate time to assess his talents and decide if he is a keeper without other teams breathing down their necks.
Lawal played at Georgia Tech where he racked up the accolades. He was named to the All-ACC third team in his sophomore and junior seasons. Last season he was third in the ACC in rebounding, which was no easy task considering he was playing alongside the third pick in the 2010 draft, Derrick Favors. As a sophomore he led the ACC in double doubles and ten rebound games. Lawal closed out his college career sixth in blocked shots in Georgia Tech history.
More impressive than his college resume has been his play in the Phoenix Suns summer league. Lawal has led the summer Suns in points and rebounding. A 6’9 power forward with a seven-foot wingspan, Lawal is a forgotten man where it comes to those tapped to fill in the void left by Amare Stoudemire. Lawal may see more minutes on the floor than people expect, especially on the heels of his summer league performance.
From what has been seen of Lawal so far, he looks like a man who could fast become this season’s version of departed power forward Louis Amundson. Amundson was loved by the fans for his energy and defensive intensity in his eight to ten minutes on the floor. Lawal has the build of the prototypical NBA power forward, moreso than the two starting ahead of him at that position, Hakim Warrick and Hedo Turkoglu. Lawal is praised for his athleticism and knocked for his inability to shoot away from the basket. These are both things that can be improved by good coaching and hard work, which Lawal certainly is putting in right now. If Lawal is as good as advertised, the Suns could shine bright in the conference finals again this season.
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