Undrafted rookie center Robert Upshaw is awfully confident. In an interview with Scout.com, Upshaw revealed that he believes he will be a part of the Lakers’ final roster by the end of training camp. Upshaw played for the Lakers’ summer league team in July, and occasionally showed some promising flashes. While reports came out around then that he had agreed to a two year deal with the club, it is now evident that those reports were false.
Upshaw has endless potential in his massive frame and raw sot-blocking abilities. In fact, most college basketball and NBA draft pundits maintain that he was a first-round – and perhaps lottery – talent. However, Upshaw’s draft stock plummeted due to a scary heart issue (which he has been cleared from) and getting kicked off of two NCAA programs due to ongoing problems with marijuana.
Nevertheless, Upshaw has an incredibly high ceiling, especially as a defender as he averaged over seven (!!!) blocks per 40 minutes last season. If he can fix his personal issues and compete in training camp, there is no reason why Big Block Bob would not be a part of the Lakers’ roster both this year, and in the future.
