USC Basketball: Nikola Jovanovic Joins Lakers Summer League Roster

Former USC basketball forward Nikola Jovanovic will join the Los Angeles Lakers Summer League roster after spending the weekend with the Detroit Piston’s squad.

Nikola Jovanovic is getting a double dose of Summer League play this year. The USC forward signed on to play for the Los Angeles Lakers during the Las Vegas Summer League as he looks to pursue a place on an NBA roster this year.

The stint with the Lakers will be his second taste of offseason basketball. Jovanovic is also set to play on the Detroit Pistons’ summer roster in Orlando this weekend.

Jovanovic and the Pistons will play five games in the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro-Summer League. After that stretch the former Trojan will join up with the Lakers for five more games beginning on Friday, July 8.

The Lakers are set to play New Orleans, Philadelphia and Golden State, with the fourth and fifth match up determined by seeding.

Joining Jovanovic are first-round pick Brandon Ingram, Notre Dame’s Zach Auguste and fellow Serbian big-man Ivica Zubac.

Between the Lakers and Pistons, Jovanovic will hope to prove that his decision to leave USC with one-year of eligibility remaining by earning a spot in training camp with one of those two squads.

The same goes for former Trojan guard Julian Jacobs, who will also appear in Orlando this weekend with the Indiana Pacers.

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• USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

Both Jovanovic and Jacobs disappointed USC fans when they opted to enter the NBA draft after excellent junior seasons which saw the Trojans earn an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 2011.

That disappointment was compounded when both failed to receive an invite to the NBA Combine and subsequently went undrafted.

While the two rookies pursue their pro dreams, USC’s basketball program has regrouped and is now looking towards the future. The Trojans have added two transfers this offseason — Duke point guard Derryk Thornton and Minnesota forward Charles Buggs.

Thornton, a former five-star recruit, must sit out a season because of NCAA transfer rules but Buggs is a graduate transfer and will be able to help the Trojans out immediately this season.