"I'm elated to go to the Lakers," said Pinnock early Thursday morning in an interview. "I'm happy they traded for me." When they announced his name during the 58th pick, Pinnock said he broke out in tears. The emotions ran after anxiously waiting hours before his name was called. "I was getting nervous," he said. "We got a call at about [the] 56[th pick] that the Mavericks were interested. When they announced my name, the tears started falling. At the time they stopped, they told me I had been traded to the Lakers. I broke out crying again." Because he was a second-round pick, a contract is not guaranteed. Pinnock must go through a vigorous training program and must prove himself to the Lakers. Pinnock, though, is up for the challenge. "Whatever I have to do to make the team better, I will do," he said. "If they say I need a year in the NBDL (National Basketball Development League), it's a year in the NBDL. If it's come in and play three minutes in a game, then that's what I'll do. Anything to make the Lakers better."
