After a year in Spain, Travis Wear will get another crack at the NBA as the Lakers signed him on Thursday with training camp coming at the end of the month.
The 6-foot-10, 230-pound power forward played for the Spanish League’s RETAbet.es GBC last year, averaging 7.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in 20.5 minutes while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 35.3 percent on 3-pointers.
In 2014-15, he played his rookie season with the New York Knicks, pitching in 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and a 40.2 percent clip from the field in 13.2 minutes.
Wear is a true Southern California product, having been born in Long Beach before growing up in Huntington Beach and winning two state championships at Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High, where he was also named a McDonald’s All-American as a senior.
While at Mater Dei, he also helped the United States to a silver medal at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina, chipping in 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
After a year playing at North Carolina, Wear and his twin brother, David, both returned to California to finish their collegiate careers at UCLA from 2011-14.
Travis was at his best during the 2011-12 season when he placed ninth in the Pac-12 in blocks (1.2) and 10th in rebounds (5.9) while leading the conference in offensive rebound percentage (13.3).
Following his tenure with the Bruins, Wear went undrafted before earning the Knicks’ final roster spot by beating out 11-year veteran Travis Outlaw. At the time, then-head coach Derek Fisher praised Wear for his “feel for the game,” spacing, athleticism and ability to mesh into a five-man unit.
He was not retained last season, instead spending it overseas. On Aug. 17 he participated in the Lakers’ free agent minicamp, where he performed in front of the team’s coaches and basketball operations staff.
Wear will now compete on a currently 18-man training camp roster that includes a heavy dose of players at his position, as he will be joined by fellow power forwards Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., Yi Jianlian and Zach Auguste.