In the very slim pickings left for teams to take advantage of at this stage of the NBA offseason, Lou Amundson is getting a lot more attention than anyone else, with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers taking a long hard look at the big man, weighing their options and possibilities of moving forward with an offer.
It seems that aren’t too many big men left for teams to add. Antawn Jamison, who won’t play for the Lakers again, Lamar Odom, with both teams not too sure about signing him. Amundson is the lesser player to both Odom and Jamison, but he is available now, and probably has less demand around the league when compared with Jamison. Odom, on the other hand, won’t play for anyone but for a LA team.
According to Shams Charania of RealGM, both the Lakers and the Clippers have been meeting with Amundson, who has been getting quite a lot of attention from around the NBA, as teams are trying to fill in the final spots on their rosters with a veteran forward who can also put in some minutes at center so they can get through the long, long NBA season, filled with injuries and starters needing some rest.
Amundson played for three teams last season – 20 games with the Timberwolves, one game with the Bulls and 18 with the New Orleans Hornets, averaging 1.9 points and 2.7 rebounds during his short time on the court. Any team that adds him knows they’re going to get some solid rebounding (10.1 rebounds per game per 36 minutes throughout his career) and defense for about 10 minutes a night, although Amundson is one of the players that usually doesn’t get to play every night.
This isn’t going to be the signings that makes or breaks the season for any team, but sometimes the difference between an injured starter and a healthy one are the minutes you’re able to give him to rest on the bench, and Amundson is certainly useful in that aspect.