Part of Tyler Ennis feels like it was just yesterday when he was in the Lakers’ practice facility, working out for the team ahead of the 2014 NBA Draft.
But the other part of the 22-year-old feels much more mature considering he has now joined his fourth team in three years.
“I’ve been traded; I’ve been on different teams — winning teams, losing teams,” Ennis said. “So I’ve seen a lot in a couple years in the league. I’m just happy to be here now with everything moving forward.”
Ennis, a point guard known for his playmaking abilities, found out about his trade from the Houston Rockets while scrolling through Twitter at the team hotel in New Orleans on Thursday.
He says that one of the biggest parts of playing his position is being able to connect with teammates. He has a bit of an edge in that department considering that he and Jordan Clarkson became friends while preparing for the draft in Los Angeles together three years ago.
“We worked out every day against each other,” Ennis said at Saturday’s practice. “I definitely got better playing against him, him playing against me. I think we definitely have chemistry off the bat.”
Meanwhile, his new head coach, Luke Walton, considered himself a “big fan” of Ennis’ game back when he was leading the ACC in both assists and steals for Syracuse back in 2013-14.
With point guard Marcelo Huertas traded away in the deal that brought Ennis to L.A., the new Laker will get his chance to play during the final stretch of the season, according to Walton.
“We definitely want to get him out there and give him some opportunities,” Walton said.
Working With Magic
New President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson joined the Lakers on their one-game road trip to Oklahoma City this weekend.
While he attended practice and dished out advice to players, Walton said that he enjoys how Johnson is comfortable with allowing his coaching staff to direct the team with autonomy.
“We have our vision and our goal of what we’re trying to do,” Walton said. “We’ve had great talks. But one of the great things about working with Magic is, as he’s said multiple times, he’s not gonna come down here and try to (take over).
“Coaching is my job and my staff’s job. Why would he, in his job, try to come down here and tell us how to coach and what he thinks we should do? We’re doing the same stuff down here. Yeah, we definitely bounce ideas off each other. … I value the opinion of someone that’s one of the all-time greats in this game, but it’s not going to change the way we coach the team.”