Los Angeles Lakers pick up DeAndre Kane for summer league team
Then-senior guard DeAndre Kane dunks the ball during Iowa State’s 85-83 win over North Carolina on March 23, 2014, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Kane scored 24 points, had 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists in the Iowa State victory.
June 27, 2014
DeAndre Kane is heading to Vegas, but not for a vacation.
The bad news for the former ISU guard was that he did not get to hear NBA commissioner Adam Silver call his name at the NBA draft June 26. The good news is Kane had very little time to wallow in that disappointment.
The 25-year-old point guard, who transferred to Iowa State from Marshall and helped to lead the Cyclones all the way to the Elite 8 before falling to the eventual national champion Connecticut, has been invited to play with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Samsung NBA Summer League, which will take place at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nev.
According to a tweet from Adam Zagoria of NBA.com, Kane’s agent Andy Miller told SportsNet New York that Kane will be playing summer basketball with the Lakers.
Kane, who stands at 6 feet 4 inches tall, is an above average point guard in terms of size and strength.
At 25, Kane is uncommonly old for a player coming out of college, which my have affected his draft status, but it also may entice teams with the idea that he is mature enough physically and mentally to contribute to an NBA franchise right away.
Kane played all four eligible seasons during his collegiate career, finishing at Iowa State after three years at Marshall. During his senior season as a Cyclone, Kane averaged 17.1 points per game to go along with 6.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest.
Kane was also a floor leader for the Cyclones last season, along with Big 12 Player of the Year Melvin Ejim, who also went undrafted.
Kane will have the opportunity to showcase both his tangible and intangible skills in at least three summer league games, the first against the Toronto Raptors on July 11.
The Lakers’ second game is against the New Orleans Hornets on July 13. The third will take place July 14 against the Golden State Warriors and will be televised on NBA TV beginning at 7:00 p.m. PST.
Those scheduled match-ups will be followed by a tournament, which will include all league teams, but the Lakers’ schedule for the tournament is yet to be determined.
