T-Rob goes to Hollywood: Former Jayhawk signs with Lakers

By Matt Tait     Sep 21, 2016

The Los Angeles Lakers and former Kansas forward Thomas Robinson on Wednesday agreed to a one-year deal, making the former KU force the final player on the Lakers roster for the 2016-17 season.

Robinson joins a full roster and even more crowded frontcourt that includes fellow former Jayhawk Tarik Black, who, in July, signed a two-year, $13 million deal to stay in Los Angeles.

Since being drafted No. 5 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, Robinson, 25, has struggled to find a consistent home, bouncing around to now his sixth team in just four years. He played with the Brooklyn Nets a season ago and averaged 4.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 77 games.

Originally drafted by the Sacramento Kings, Robinson was traded to the Houston Rockets during his rookie season and later went on to play for the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded again to the Philadelphia 76ers and eventually winding up in Brooklyn last season.

Robinson’s signing was overshadowed somewhat by the Lakers agreeing to bring back former NBA standout and side show Metta World Peace. Adding both players put the Lakers at the maximum of 20 players heading into training camp. L.A. will have to trim that roster to 15 by the end of camp, which makes Robinson’s addition less than a guarantee.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.