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The Los Angeles Lakers are among several teams Kansas senior Perry Ellis has worked out for, according to Alex Kenned y of Basketball Insiders. Kennedy reports that the Jayhawks center has also worked out for the "Bucks, Suns, Spurs, Hawks, Celtics, Raptors, Knicks, and Pelicans" while all teams and prospects prepare for the 2016 NBA Draft.
Ellis averaged 17 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in his 37th fourth year at Kansas, and Draft Express ranks him as the 68th best prospect in the class. That relatively low ranking likely means the Lakers are investigating Ellis for a possible Las Vegas Summer League and/or training camp invite, rather than looking to draft him with their 32nd overall pick.
Our own Kansas alumnus Tom Fehr watched the majority of Ellis game's with the Jayhawks, and he offered this scouting report on what the Lakers might be able to expect from the big man if they were to sign him following the draft:
Ellis is a bit of a tweener. He was a power forward in college, but is too small to be a big in the NBA. He is highly skilled offensively, with a great post game and developed a great jumper.
However, he's not a good defender, and likely won't be able to defend either wings or bigs effectively at the next level. He's probably going to be a guy that plays overseas for a long time if he can't make it in the NBA.
Wherever he ends up, that team's fans will additionally notice that Ellis looks, well, older than his college status would suggest. This has led to many a few joke over his 37 4 years at Kansas:
A look back at Perry Ellis' freshman year at Kansas pic.twitter.com/W23qfdzVia
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) January 20, 2016
The @Lakers should draft Perry Ellis in the second round, he adds instance veteran leadership since he'll be a 30 year old rookie.
— Parker Williams (@ParkerWill93) June 15, 2016
Anyone actually believe Perry Ellis is 22 years old? #NBADraftCombine
— The Junkies (@The__Junkies) June 15, 2016
Perry Ellis look the old man that showed up at open gym basketball at this NBA combine game
— Hoa Duong (@HTD_38) June 15, 2016
For the record, Perry Ellis' favorite old-age joke was the one where he was Photoshopped onto Danny Manning: https://t.co/W2AHPh9mit
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) June 6, 2016
And many more. So at the very least, maybe Ellis could offer a young-while-also-somehow-veteran presence to the very young 2016-17 Lakers if they choose to bring him back following the draft.
You can follow this author on Twitter at @hmfaigen.