The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Tyler Ennis from the Houston Rockets on Feb. 23 for Marcelo Huertas. Ennis did not play a lot when he first joined the Lakers, but saw his minutes increase down the home stretch of the regular season. In the last five games, Ennis is averaging 27.4 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.4 assists and 1.2 rebounds.
“When I got here they told me I was going to have a chance to go out and play,”
Ennis told the Los Angeles Times. “I know it wasn’t going to be given to me with all the guards and the young players that were here. So I just tried to come out and show what I could do.”
Ennis, the No. 18 selection in the 2014 NBA draft, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, since the Rockets declined their fourth-year team option as part of his rookie-scale contract. There is a chance the Lakers will look to bring back Ennis next season, but that decision could be tied to the lottery. If the Lakers keep their pick (Nos. 1-3) they will probably select a guard, and at that point Ennis likely won’t receive an offer, unless either Jordan Clarkson or D’Angelo Russell is traded.
When discussing the one-time Syracuse point guard, coach Luke Walton said Ennis will need to become a better shooter.