The Los Angeles Lakers’ season came to an end Wednesday night, meaning exit interviews were conducted throughout the day Thursday, with players also having their exit meetings with president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka.
Typically the purpose of those meetings is for the front office to discuss with players what they want them to work on in the offseason, or if a player is a free agent then give them some clarity of what, if any, future they have with the organization.
One of the Lakers players that met with the front office is center Tarik Black. The 25-year-old has spent the last two and a half seasons with the Lakers and has played well, but with Ivica Zubac and Timofey Mozgov both under contract for next season, there may not be a rotation spot for Black.
In his exit interview Thursday afternoon, Black discussed what Johnson and Pelinka talked with him about, and Black said that he is confident he will be back with the Lakers next season:
Tarik said Magic/Pelinka offering him tips to get better as opposed to saying goodbye gives him confidence he’ll be back next year
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) April 13, 2017
Black also added that the front office told him he needs to get better offensively this offseason:
Tarik says Magic/Pelinka told him he has a lot of potential. Mentioned he needs to get better offensively
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) April 13, 2017
Black appeared in 67 games for the Lakers this past season, starting 16 of them. In 16.3 minutes per game, he averaged 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 51.2 percent from the field.
One thing that Black possesses in his game that many players lack is his hustle and effort. Despite being undersized Black gets a countless amount of rebounds, particularly on the offensive end of the floor, just because he out-hustles everyone else on the floor.
Black still has one year remaining on the two-year deal he signed with the Lakers last summer, but with only a little more than $6 million remaining on his contract, it is not a guarantee that he will be on the roster come next season.
