The LA Lakers struck out on their target free agents. Instead of pursuing restricted free agents that would be matched by their mother teams, they decided to re-sign their own crew from last year. Despite the dismal season, they saw promise in some players. One of them is Jordan Hill.

Last year, Jordan Hill played the most minutes in his career, thanks in part to the woeful roster of the Lakers. It was enough to spark some interest from other teams and it seems like he would be ready to leave if the Lakers used their cap space on a max player like Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James.

But the Lakers gave him a lucrative $ 18 million/2 year contract. That was much more than any team could offer, and about the same amount (9M/year) that Pau Gasol would be getting from Chicago. That's because the Lakers did appreciate his hard work and believes he could be better.

However, the Lakers have a team option on the second year, so Hill is under pressure to perform.

ESPN bets that Hill would deliver if given more minutes:

"Hill played a career-high 1,500 minutes last season, but averaged less than 21 minutes per game. This season, Hill joins Robert Sacre as the only centers on the Lakers' roster, though Byron Scott will be able to mix and match with a number of his options at the 4. Hill's PER during his time in L.A. is 19.1, and last season he averaged 16.7 points and 12.8 rebounds per 36 minutes. Hill isn't a natural center, though, and that means trouble at the defensive end. Under Scott, Hill will have to prove he can defend the paint in order to get his first full shot at major minutes."

If Jordan Hill can hold his own against the best big men of the league, he might be able to keep his spot next year. Hill is a former lottery pick that had a disappointing start and ended up being a journeyman. Dwight Howard's departure left the big Lakers door open and Hill made the most of the opportunity.

Now that Pau Gasol is gone, Hill has a chance to show what he's finally made of.