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The Los Angeles Lakers made Vander Blue the newest member of their roster Saturday, signing him to a one-year deal with a reported $50,000 guarantee.
That small guarantee doesn’t guarantee Blue much of anything besides a Lakers training camp invite, and it appears he isn’t taking that opportunity lightly. Instead, Blue is using the offseason to prepare for the NBA shot he’s been chasing for the last several years (via Chris Palmer of Spectrum Sportsnet):
Newest Laker Vander Blue celebrates his deal by starting three-a-day workouts in Miami. Pool work to increase that vert. "I'll be so ready." pic.twitter.com/hWCwllHug8
— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) July 31, 2017
We didn’t get to see the third part of Blue’s workout, but Palmer gave us a glimpse of the second:
Blue then headed to the gym. This double team sideline drill is designed to work on ballhandling in tight spaces. Some tricky handles. pic.twitter.com/jdkuHO1aV6
— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) July 31, 2017
Blue was a solid compliment to Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball despite playing through all of Las Vegas Summer League with an injured shoulder, and it seems he’s still plowing full-steam ahead in his effort to make the Lakers’ roster. His workouts are certainly impressive, and we’ll see if they’re enough to help him seize the Lakers’ final roster spot in training camp.
Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.