PORTLAND, Ore. — For a half-hour after the Lakers wrapped up their Monday morning shootaround, Mo Bamba kept at the grindstone. The 24-year-old slung 3-pointers from all over the arc, every few minutes looking over to the other end of the Moda Center court, where a shirtless LeBron James was working out himself.
On the first day on the job, Bamba didn’t want to get caught leaving the court before his 38-year-old teammate.
The mentality the 7-foot Bamba, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, is bringing to L.A. is to learn, to try to emulate and certainly try to help his new teammates – and there’s no one on the roster who he holds in more reverence than the guy who just became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
“That’s one of the best guys to ever lace ’em up,” he said. “I just want to be a sponge, and just soak up as much information and knowledge I can just gain from him.”
It’s unclear just how much the Lakers will need from Bamba, whom they traded for on Thursday to add size after dealing Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones away. Bamba himself called it “crazy” to be caught up in a whirlwind trade deadline, leaving Orlando, the only market he’s known for the past five years.
That’s not to say the New York native isn’t excited to make his Lakers debut on Wednesday, once a four-game suspension ends for his spat with Austin Rivers. He understands exactly what the Lakers will need from him when he’s on the court: rim protection, spacing on 3-pointers if possible, and youthful energy.
“He’s another young, very young, high-level player with a huge upside,” Coach Darvin Ham said. “Our coaches are excited to get to work with him and we’re excited to add him into the mix.”
The Lakers are under the gun to build continuity fast. While Bamba said it should be easy to get into a groove with James and Davis – whom he playfully called “Three 6 Mafia” in reference to their jersey numbers and the hip-hop group – he…
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