It's rare that you get a true peek inside what it's like being a former NBA player pushing as hard as he can to get back into the league, but that's what Chris Douglas-Roberts offered us.
A college star for three years at Memphis, CDR fell to No. 40 overall in the 2008 Draft (New Jersey). Despite some real success when getting minutes in his second season (as many as 17.3 ppg in Nov. of 2009), Douglas-Roberts played sparingly in 2010-11 before signing in Italy during the lockout. Last season, he got only a 10-game contract with Dallas after being the last cut at Lakers training camp.
Douglas-Roberts played very well in that camp, earning fans in the front office and in Kobe Bryant, but by being that final cut, wound up in the D–League. It was difficult moment for CDR, a competitor who considers anything but playing in the NBA to be a personal failure to him and, by extension, to his community.
Now playing for L.A.'s Summer League squad in Las Vegas, CDR opened up in an hour-long podcast explaining what it's like trying to hold onto his lifelong dream.
To listen, click play: [swf file="https://i.cdn.turner.com/dr/nba/teamsites-nbateams/release/lakers/sites/lakers/files/content/audio/2013/07/130717summerpod_cdr.mp3" player="onepixelout"]
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