CHICAGO, IL - MAY 15: NBA Draft Prospect, Malik Newman poses for a portrait during the 2018 NBA Combine circuit on May 15, 2018 at the Intercontinental Hotel Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) Kansas Basketball saw two of their players selected on Thursday night. Malik Newman went undrafted as an underclassman, making his journey a tough one. Kansas Basketball left its mark on yet another NBA draft. Two former Jayhawks heard their names called on Thursday night, meaning one heard only silence. As the final name was called, Malik Newman knew then that the road forward was going to be much harder than he had hoped. The sophomore for Bill Self’s Kansas Basketball team left school early in hopes of being drafted and getting paid. He didn’t have to wait long. Shortly after the draft was over, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports first reported that the Los Angeles Lakers had signed Newman to a two-way contract. A two-way contract states that Newman will play 45 games in the NBA and the rest down in the d-league. Within an hour the storyline shifted gears for Malik. This was going to become a sob story of wrong decisions. That quickly deleted itself, becoming a story of optimism. With Newman now having an NBA team in a wonderful market like Los Angeles, the sky is the limit. There will be plenty of turbulence along the way, however. Instead of getting drafted and locking himself in, he is now going to have to fight and scrap for what he ultimately wants. Now, he has to compete against all the other undrafted free agents. The gauntlet goes beyond that as he will be up against displaced veterans and d-league players for just a roster spot, even with the d-league team. The good news for not only himself but the Lakers as well is that Newman has the athleticism and shooting ability to make the squad. Not only make the squad but add valuable depth, helping the Lakers become a better team. Newman has an NBA body already. He has the talent to carry him far. As long as Malik gets through the summer league and preseason games, Lakers fans will find out for themselves soon enough. Newman has some fine tuning he has to address, same as all rookies. It might help just a bit that he knows a familiar face in Los Angeles. His Kansas teammate and former roommate Svi Mykhailiuk was drafted by the Lakers with the 47th pick. Here’s a look at the past season from Malik, Lakers fans. He’s coming toward a bench near you. The Lakers are getting a solid player with Newman. He is a strong body with a good eye for the game. He’s an above-average defender with pretty good ball skills and knows how to drive to the basket. He can also help the Lakers turn around that dismal three-point percentage from last season, which was second to last in the league. Want your voice heard? Join the KC Kingdom team! Write for us! Newman may not have been drafted, but his story changed with the signing. It’s a huge moment for both the Lakers and Malik. He might just be the steal of the undrafted guys.<doc-sep>The Los Angeles Lakers may quickly become a fan-favorite of those who watched the Jayhawks last year. After adding Svi Mykhailiuk with No. 47-overall pick in the draft and quickly snatching Malik Newman after the event and signing him to a two-way deal, the Lakers instantly became one of the most KU-laden teams in the NBA — though everyone is chasing the Memphis Grizzlies, who last season had Mario Chalmers, Wayne Selden and Ben McLemore on the roster. Speaking directly after the draft — after Mykhailiuk's selection but before Newman's signing was announced — KU coach Bill Self was bullish on the fit for Mykhailiuk, especially given the chance for LeBron James to head to Los Angeles. "If the rumors are true, you know I think [Mykhailiuk] is a nice piece," Self hinted. "Have a corner jump shooter when, you know, maybe one of the best players ever has the ball in his hands, if it plays out that way like it’s rumored to be." But LeBron-aside, for those who haven't gotten to watch the Jayhawks over the last four years — or one-plus-a-redshirt-year, in Newman's case — here's a little about each of the players to help you get to know them: Svi Mykhahiliuk: Having covered Svi Mykhailiuk all four years of his collegiate career, his development cannot be overstated. And I mean that as much off the court as on. When Mykhailiuk came to Kansas – and really up until his junior year — he was like a big kid rather than a young adult. I don't mean that in a pejorative sense, but rather to say his body was less toned and developed. He was scrawnier. His diet wasn't where it probably should have been, though he certainly wasn't out of shape. He wasn't used to tough coaching like he would receive under Self. In fact, at KU media day before his senior year, I asked Self about that very thing. Self had just given a press conference where he'd talked about any number of KU topics. But in one answer, talking about the leaders of the team, he slipped in a line about Mykhailiuk. "[Devonte' Graham] won't defer to anybody this year," Self said. "This is his squad. This is his team, more so than anybody else. Svi has been terrific so far, but Devonte', to me from a vocal standpoint and by example, he's going to have a lot of fun this year." After the press conference, I went up to Self and asked him what "terrific" meant. “So confident," Self said. "He looks more athletic. I think he lost some weight." It wasn't just his body, though. Sometime in Mykhailiuk's transition from being an underclassman to an upperclassmen, he got more comfortable with his situation and began to expand out of his comfort zone. Part of that came from his relationship with Graham, who Mykhailiuk maintained was his best friend over his four-year career. The two polar-opposite personalities — Mykhailiuk is quietly sarcastic and witty but for the most part pretty reserved while Graham is more energetic, outgoing and deliberate — were paired together on the road and both ended up helping push each other along the way. But a similar relationship came between Mykhailiuk and Self. Mykhailiuk admitted before his senior year he probably wasn't ready for the mental side of things when he first got on campus. Self agreed, but he added Mykhailiuk probably wasn't alone in that sentiment. "I think everybody thinks that they're ready. When they get here they realize they're not," Self said. "I think that's probably the way he was back then." But for Mykhailiuk, no opportunity may have been more eye-opening than when he declared for the draft without an agent as a junior. He was told he needed to improve in all areas — outside of shooting, of course — and he took it to heart, transforming his body, improving his defense — he successfully guarded players of various body types in his senior year, ranging from West Virginia point guard Jevon Carter (6 foot 1, 196 pounds) to Duke big man Marvin Bagley (6 foot 11, 235 pounds) — and improving as an all-around offensive player. Now he'll look to do so in the NBA. Malik Newman: Malik Newman told a story before the Final Four that I thought was really interesting. He thought back to his childhood, when he wanted to play on a basketball court around the corner from his home. The bigger kids wouldn't let him play, and he'd go home crying, he recalled. So Newman channeled his inner MacGyver, breaking the bolts off a bike tire and putting the tire up in a tree. He had a dirt backyard, so if it rained he couldn't play for days, but he still would go out and climb the tree and dunk — at least until he broke the tire and his dad ended up buying him an actual hoop. That'd be a good way to describe the resiliency of Newman's redshirt-sophomore season, too. Newman probably could have gone pro after sitting out a year for Kansas. After transferring in from Mississippi State, which wasn't the right fit for Newman with coach Ben Howland, Newman drew tremendous praise from the KU coaching staff behind the scenes. The thought around Lawrence was he would step in and could average as many as 20 points per game. He was going to lead the team in scoring and be an all-league performer, no questions asked. When Newman agreed to come to Kansas, the deal was that he was going to stay for at least one season of on-court production. Newman's father later told the KC Star that Self warned that it would screw up the recruiting classes if Newman were to sit out and then bolt. The agreement was reached for him to come to Kansas, wait his turn and then star — only the year didn't start the way Newman had envisioned. Newman hit a huge shot for the Jayhawks in the team's second game against Kentucky, but hit an offensive lull throughout the rest of non-conference play. Working against Newman was a concussion he suffered against Arizona State. Newman went 0 for 6 from the field in his next game at Nebraska. He rebounded with a couple decent performances, but fans started to grow restless with his inconsistent play. To his credit, Newman kept his head up. In a game against Iowa State, the Cyclones couldn't match up with the smaller KU lineup and had to stick their power forward on Newman, a shooting guard. Newman scored 27 points and came away with a huge block to lead Kansas to a win. Then, after posting back-to-back 20-point outings against Baylor and Oklahoma and really breaking out in the Big 12 tournament — averaging 24 points per game — Newman regained his favor as the fan-favorite he was in the preseason. Then he scored 28 points in the Round of 32. Then he scored 32 points in the Elite Eight and locked down Grayson Allen on defense. The rest was history. Again, though, it's fairly easy to fall in love with Newman as a player. He can score from just about anywhere, plays solid one-on-one defense — though his team defense needs to improve — and is a fantastic defensive rebounder who can grab the ball and take it down the floor to start the break. Off the court, he's outgoing and pretty hilarious. In fact, there may be no better way to end this assessment than by sharing this video from Big 12 media day, when Newman and Graham discussed the ethics of snack-sharing and donut sticks: At the very least he can afford a few more snacks, now.<doc-sep>
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t take a break after they got done with what was already a busy 2018 NBA Draft night for the team, signing Malik Newman to one of their pair of two-way contracts and also adding Joel Berry II to start undrafted free agency, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Sources: Undrafted Kansas guard Malik Newman has agreed to a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2018 North Carolina’s Joel Berry II has agreed to an undrafted free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources tell Yahoo. Berry was four-year standout at UNC and part of national championship team in 2017. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2018 The team didn’t stop there, also signing Jeffrey Carroll of Oklahoma State to an Exhibit 10 deal, which allows the Lakers to guarantee him money while still having the freedom to convert his contract into a two-way contract before the start of the season: The Los Angeles Lakers and Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State) have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal, a league source told The Athletic. — Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 22, 2018 Update: Carroll confirmed that report on Twitter. Thankful for the opportunity to join the @Lakers organization! Thank you guys for the support throughout this process. It's only the beginning! #LakeShow — Jeffrey Carroll (@J30Carroll) June 22, 2018 Malik Newman appears to be pretty easily the most likely of these names to actually make an impact on the Lakers. The Kansas guard was the 58th-ranked prospect on Jonathan Givony of ESPN’s list of the top 100 2018 NBA Draft prospects, and he averaged 14.2 points five rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 46.3 percent from the field in his sophomore season with the Jayhawks. For a deeper scouting report on Newman, I reached out to Scott Chasen of 247Sports, who covered Newman locally for the Lawrence Journal-World and Topeka Capital-Journal: After transferring from Mississippi State to KU, the plan was always for Malik Newman to play one year and then go pro. He came into the season with high expectations, with some in the program believing he’d lead the team in scoring. Ultimately, he got off to a slow start, though he did hit a huge shot in the team’s second game against Kentucky. Newman broke out with a 27-point outing in conference play against Iowa State. By the time the postseason came around, he became a different player. Newman had six 20 point games in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. He scored 30 in the Big 12 tournament opener against Oklahoma State, went off against Seton Hall in the Round of 32 and dropped 32 against Duke in the Elite Eight. He also guarded Grayson Allen in that game and did a phenomenal job defensively. Newman can score from just about anywhere on the court. He’s a great shooter, can work in the mid-range and has a knack for getting to the rim and finishing. He didn’t draw a ton of free throws, but he developed this reputation as a guy that would get to the cup late in games when other teams would start to wear down. He isn’t a great facilitator and needs to improve his handle, but he still has time to work on those parts of his game. Defensively, Newman was inconsistent. He’s actually a pretty decent on-ball defender, but he isn’t great off-ball. He is, however, a tremendous defensive rebounder for his size. He can go up and snatch a board and then start a break, which should be a valuable tool in the NBA. All of those make Newman sound like a pretty solid get for a guy on a two-way contract, and his advanced numbers are also pretty decent: Malik Newman Top NBA comps: Cedi Osman, DeMarre Carroll, Abdel Nader, Danny Green, Kelly Oubre Jr. Offensive Role: Spot Up Wing, 44th %ile poss share CPOE: 83rd O-PIPM: 77th D-PIPM: 8th https://t.co/qg75gLgJbx — Cranjis McBasketball (@T1m_NBA) June 22, 2018 As for Berry II and Jeffrey Carroll, neither is likely to make the Lakers’ full-time roster. Carroll was the 96th overall prospect on Givony’s big board, while Berry II was not listed. Either player could potentially use a strong showing on either of the Lakers’ summer league teams to start a debate on whether or not they should play a bigger role going forward, but for now it seems safe to assume that Newman is the main get here.