Lakers sign Robert Upshaw to 2-year contract, according to report

The Lakers have signed rookie center Robert Upshaw to a 2-year deal, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com and the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise after just one game of Summer League, as the Lakers were thought to be using Summer League as a chance to evaluate Upshaw on and off the court.

Nonetheless, Upshaw is a promising young big man if he can stay on the court. In college, he was kicked off of two basketball programs for violating team rules. Upshaw was leading the NCAA in blocks before being dismissed from the Washington program.

Upshaw looked solid in his first Summer League game, posting 3 blocks while guarding #1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns. If all works out, Upshaw could be an impactful rim protector for years to come.

Obviously we'll have more on this story as it develops, but now there's extra incentive to root for Big Block Bob in Las Vegas.

UPDATE: Baxter Holmes of ESPN has confirmed the report with additional details: the contract includes a partial guarantee on the 1st year, while the 2nd year of the deal is non-guaranteed.