As a Laker fan I don’t think he could add anything to the NBA roster, his skills and size are too limited to be a contributor. As a Bruin, I hope he does well in the summer and someone gives him a shot, likely an overseas team.

Has: great defensive ability, tremendous work ethic, experience playing against bigger guys, championship level experience, team mentality, top-level blocking ability, very short-range soft hook shot.

Lacks: FT-shooting, longer-range offense, NBA-type offensive skills, height.

I’ve seen him routinely drain 20 footers in pre-game warm-ups. I refuse to put a ceiling on where Mata-Real could end up in basketball. If he gets a chance, you know he’ll do whatever he can to take advantage of it, and while he’s as un-flashy as it gets, he may yet end up as an NBA contributor.

Also…
In his first year at UCLA, I used to say that Mata played Mata-dor defense. That is, as soon as a guy ran at him, he would just step out of the way. But boy did that change. Dramatic improvement is always a good sign.

if ben wallace can be an allstar in the league (even though it may not seem that way lookin at him play now) why cant LMR be at least a contributor off the bench if nothing else? go to uclabruins.com and they have him listed at 6’9 and 240 lbs, which is exactly what nba.com has listed for wallace. I can see LMR step into a similar role with a team like the Lakers that needed an extra guy to body up with a Kendrick Perkins and especially with a Leon Powe who LMR has experience guarding whenever UCLA and Cal played. So i have to disagree when ppl say he cant add anything to a roster. Put him in the game when u need some toughness and rebounds, he might not get you the points all the time, but the boy can find a place in the nba.