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The Los Angeles Lakers are re-signing backup point guard and t-shirt-under-the-jersey enthusiast Tyler Ennis to a one-year, minimum contract, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. The Lakers have a team option for Year 2.
Ennis was one of the first players the Lakers called in free agency, and there were also reports the Lakers were “leaning towards” bringing Ennis back before free agency even began, so it appears no one on the market at the same price ultimately interested them more than the 22-year-old bench guard.
The Lakers acquired Ennis at the trade deadline in exchange for Marcelo Huertas, and he averaged 7.7 points and 2.4 assists in 22 games for the Lakers, starting twice.
After the season, Ennis was vocal about his desire to remain with the Lakers and continue to play under head coach Luke Walton, and was an active participant in voluntary workouts with other members of the Lakers’ young core.
Ennis will likely slot into the Lakers’ rotation as the back-up point guard behind rookie Lonzo Ball heading into training camp. With Derrick Rose off the table, the Lakers moved on to their next option quickly.
Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.