ESPN

Playing on a Summer League team doesn't mean the same thing for every player on the floor. Some are first-round picks from this year or previous drafts with guaranteed contracts and plenty of buzz. Others are second- and third-year players, or second-round picks and former NBA'ers hoping to impress enough to stick on a roster. The majority, however, are free agents. Former college stars who have played either in the D-League or overseas, some sounding more familiar than others. (Among the more commonly heard sentiments when fans and media pull up a roster is "Hey, that guy!")

Ibrahim Jaaber, currently running the point for the Lakers and making at least a theoretical push for L.A.'s fifth guard slot, is in the latter group. Once a star at Penn, he has played the last two seasons in Italy, picking up a Bulgarian passport along the way and playing for their national team.

The value of becoming a naturalized citizen for a European team -- he now has dual citizenship -- has enormous financial value for Jaaber, allowing him to earn substantially more playing overseas than he can on a minimum deal in the NBA. It's a situation changing completely the context of his situation with the Lakers, as does the responsibility he feels to his family. “A lot of people don’t know I’ve got 12 brothers and sisters. So I try not to be selfish in my decision making. When I say secure my future, I’m not talking just about myself, I talk about the people around me I have the part of helping," he says.

I spoke to him for a few minutes after Tuesday's game about his situation, and more.

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Thus far in Summer League competition, the sort-of-Lakers have played twice, and lost twice. Not that it matters, since final scores are among the least important aspects of the competition in Vegas, to the point it's reasonable to ask why they bother keeping score.

The primary purpose is player development and evaluation, and while everything happening there comes with a very important caveat -- it may be the NBA"s Summer League, but Summer League ain't the NBA -- on that end the Lakers are off to a good start. Both of their second-round picks, small forward Devin Ebanks and power forward Derrick Caracter, have impressed. As ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin notes, so has Ibrahim Jaaber, looking to fill what could be a vacant spot as the fifth guard on the depth chart.

Some of the early reviews:

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