NBA News 2012: Lakers sign guard Jodie Meeks

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 07: Devin Ebanks #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the NBA Europe Live match between Los Angeles Lakers and Regal FC Barcelona at the at Palau Blaugrana on October 7, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Los Angeles Lakers executives Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss are set to begin their respective vacations this week after a busy summer that saw the team pull off two blockbuster deals to acquire Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, but before the lights went out in the Lakers offices there were a couple of minor moves to take care of Monday.

The Lakers officially signed guard Jodie Meeks after coming to terms with the free agent last week and also officially inked Devin Ebanks, after initially agreeing to a new deal with the small forward more than a month ago.

Meeks signed a two-year deal, with the first year at $1.4 million and the second being a Lakers' team option that could be worth up to $2 million with incentives, according to his agent David Bauman, who also serves as Ebanks' agent.

Ebanks agreed to a one-year deal with the Lakers worth $1,085,000, according to Bauman.

"I'm confident things will work themselves out in the future in L.A. for Jodie," Bauman, who also represents Lakers forward Metta World Peace, told ESPNLosAngeles.com in a phone interview.

Meeks, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard out of Kentucky, has career averages of 8.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in his three seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers.

Meeks is a career 37.1 percent shooter from 3-point range. More than half of his made field goals last season for the Sixers were from beyond the arc (97 of 191).

Ebanks, who turns 23 in October, averaged 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds last year for the Lakers in his second season after being drafted in the second round out of West Virginia in 2010. He started 12 games, beginning the season as the starting small forward over World Peace and later filling in for Kobe Bryant for five games when Bryant was out with a left shin injury late in the year. Ebanks averaged 6.4 points and 3.2 rebounds on 47.8 percent shooting as a starter.

Ebanks had agreed to the Lakers' qualifying offer back in the first week of July, but held off on officially signing the deal for two reasons.

First, he knew the Lakers were active players in the trade market and his new contract could end up facilitating a deal should he sign it before the dust had settled on all their major moves. Secondly, by waiting, Ebanks had more time to shop his services to other teams around the league in search of a more lucrative deal.

"We basically made the decision to hold off and yet the Lakers always said to us that 'Devin, we think you're an important part our team,'" said Bauman.

The signings bring the Lakers' roster to 14 players for next season out of a maximum 15 spots.

There is currently a logjam at point guard with Nash, Steve Blake, Darius Morris, Chris Duhon (who was acquired in the Howard deal) in the mix, as well as combo guard Andrew Goudelock, whose 2012-13 contract is not fully guaranteed.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8265792/los-angeles-lakers-sign-jodie-meeks-devin-ebanks

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NBA News 2012: Is Mike Brown's Job on the Line in Game Seven?

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 25: Head coach Mike Brown talks with Metta World Peace #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the game against the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center on December 25, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)Mike Brown's future with the Lakers could well depend on his ability to find solutions by Saturday night. I don't think the front office would make a coaching change even if they lose Game Seven. Brown is owed a lot of money under the deal he signed last summer, and for an organization already in cost-cutting mode, having to pay a second head coach while Brown's still on the payroll is an unattractive option. But I'll assure you of this: if the Lakers do fall in Game Seven, some nasty shit is going to come raining down. Bynum might demand a trade. Kobe might demand to be amnestied. Either guy might point to Brown and say, "It's him or me." If the Lakers don't advance, one of the Brown-Bynum-Kobe threesome will be gone next year. Maybe more than one. There's way too much talent making way too much money for a first-round exit, and how much more of Kobe's amazing career are people willing to see go to waste?

Making Brown's job easier in some respects but harder in others will be the return to action of Metta World Peace. He's done his time for clobbering James Harden. Now he returns to the lineup to replace the out-of-his-depth Devin Ebanks. MWP will finally give the Lakers someone to check Danilo Gallinari, who's been killing them on isolation plays. He'll have the freshest legs on the floor. And along with Kobe, he'll give Mike Brown a second player he can count on to compete with fire. But Metta hasn't seen game action in a couple weeks, and he's such a flaky dude you can easily imagine him looking totally out of sorts in his first game back. I can see him infusing the Lakers with much-needed defensive backbone. I can also see him shooting 1-for-7 with four turnovers.

All season long it's been impossible to get a read on this Lakers squad. At times they're the best team in the league. But just when you start believing in them, they become an unfathomable mess. Which version will show up Saturday? Your guess is as good as mine, and probably Mike Brown's as well.

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2012/5/10/3013625/is-mike-browns-job-on-the-line-in-game-seven

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NBA News 2010: Lakers rookies Derrick Caracter, Devin Ebanks try to seize their opportunities

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The rookies got some playing time, and that's all that really mattered to them and to the Lakers.

Neither rookie stood out against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night at The Palace in Auburn Hills.

But forwards Derrick Caracter and Devin Ebanks did just enough against the Pistons to earn a measure of praise from the man they most have to impress.

"Derrick got some rebounds and messed around in there. Devin ran the lane and got a couple of steals. He was active."

Caracter played 15 minutes 24 seconds, his season high.

He had six points and five rebounds, two offensive. He was three for five from the field.

Ebanks played 7:57.

He had four points on one-for-five shooting, four rebounds and one blocked shot.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-web-20101119,0,6738790.story

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NBA News 2010: Lakers off to dominant start without being full strength

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers don't have 7-0 center Andrew Bynum because of right knee surgery. Kobe Bryant still isn't himself, either, because of right knee surgery.

And still, the Lakers were not just winning but mostly dominating en route to a 4-0 start, with a 13-point average margin of victory, entering Wednesday's game against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers' lowest production had been 107 points against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. That meant rookies Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter got more playing time than expected, and veterans such as Bryant (15th season) and Ron Artest (12th) were able to rest.

Artest had played more than 29 minutes only once. Bryant hadn't played more than 27 minutes in the previous two games. Ebanks got into two games and was averaging 11.5 minutes. Caracter hadn't played more than 10 minutes in three appearances.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/2010-11-03-lakers-winning-early_N.htm

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NBA News 2010: Lakers rookies impressed by veterans’ work ethic

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In any team sport, coaches look to their veterans to set an example by displaying a solid work ethic to their younger, less experienced teammates.  Los Angeles Lakers rookies, Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter, are impressed by the work ethic from veterans, such as Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, and Theo Ratliff.

“Seeing Kobe in here every day early, for example, makes me want to work even harder. You know he’s put in a lot of work (already) in his career and to see him still doing that is (motivating),” said Ebanks.

Caracter was equally impressed and added, “Seeing guys like Kobe, Theo Ratliff, and Derek Fisher … (Fisher) was out here yesterday working, looking like he was 17. Just seeing how the veterans take care of their bodies, and how guys who have been in the league for 14 years still going at that pace makes you as a rookie feel like you can’t take any days off, and that you have to bring the same amount of energy if not more.”

http://www.examiner.com/los-angeles-lakers-in-los-angeles/lakers-rookies-impressed-by-veterans-work-ethic

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NBA News 2010: Devin Ebanks Setting The Bar High

Image by jgrove via Flickr

Devin Ebanks wasn't supposed to be a second round pick. Three years ago, he was one of the top high school players in the nation and looked like a future lottery pick. He was putting up impressive numbers, dominating national tournaments and camps, and being recruited by the top college programs in the country.

So how did the Los Angeles Lakers land Ebanks with the forty-third pick in this year's draft? After two solid seasons at West Virginia, the twenty-year old forward was overlooked in a class that was loaded with wing players. Despite being one of the better athletes in the group and possessing the kind of potential not usually found in a second round selection, Ebanks sat in front of his television and watched as other players came off of the board in front of him. 

He's happy to be in the league, but he's not ready to forget what happened on draft night. Going into the Las Vegas Summer League, Ebanks – along with fellow Lakers rookie Derrick Caracter – felt this was the perfect environment to show teams what they missed out on. Both were, at one time, projected to be top picks and had slipped into the second round. 

"We both had chips on our shoulders because we felt like we should have went higher and our chemistry is great," Ebanks said. "I actually played with D.C. when I was younger, back in high school, so we knew each other's styles a little bit. It turned out to help us a lot in Vegas."

Throughout the week and a half, Ebanks and Caracter put on a clinic, averaging a combined 30.4 points and emerging as two of the best rookies in Vegas. That wasn't a surprise to Ebanks.

Even if he doesn't play big minutes during his rookie campaign, the young forward knows that he'll have plenty of opportunities to develop and learn from the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart.

"I spoke to Lamar when I first got to Los Angeles to practice for the Summer League. When I signed my contract, I spoke to Ron Artest when he was out there. Both of them were excited for me to get out there and hopefully I can just learn behind them because they have great NBA experience," he said.

Odom and Artest will definitely take Ebanks, a fellow Queens native, under their wings next season. But even with the "say Queensbridge" connection, Ebanks has already started to give fans in Los Angeles flashbacks to a different forward that used to wear purple and gold.

After finishing the Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago, the Trevor Ariza comparisons started. The two had almost the exact same measurements in almost every category. Height, weight, vertical leap, standing reach, lane agility drills, and the ¾ court sprint; you name it and the two forwards had eerily similar numbers. With his perimeter defense and athleticism, Ebanks says that Lakers fans have made him well aware of the similarities. 

"I've heard that a lot," said Ebanks. "We definitely do have a lot of similarities in our games, but we're two different players and I'm just going to try to play the way I usually play."

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17302

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