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Report: Lakers reach Summer League commitment with undrafted Upshaw

Joe Nicholson / USA TODAY Sports

Robert Upshaw was one of the most surprising players to go unselected at the NBA Draft on Thursday night, but the 6-foot-11 Washington center will get a shot to prove his worth this summer.

Immediately following the conclusion of the draft, Upshaw reached a Summer League commitment with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to RealGM's Shams Charania.

In his sophomore season with the Huskies - before being dismissed by the program for violating team rules - Upshaw averaged 10.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and a ridiculous 4.5 blocks. He measured out as one of the biggest players in the class, with a 7-foot-5.5 wingspan and 9-foot-5 standing reach, which explains that prodigious block rate.

Entering the draft, he projected as a mid-second-round pick, and likely fell out for off-court reasons - both the apparent behavioral issues that got him booted from the Huskies, and concerns about a heart problem that cropped up at the combine.

The Lakers will get a chance to see if he can straighten everything out away from the court and turn his package of physical gifts into NBA-caliber production on it.

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