First-Round Choice Peeler Signs Multiyear Contract With Lakers

The Lakers signed first-round draft choice Anthony Peeler to a multiyear contract Friday.

Peeler, a 6-foot-4, 212-pound guard, was the Big Eight Conference player of the year last season, averaging 23.4 points for Missouri. His all-around ability had made him one of the top draft choices heading into the NBA draft.

But Peeler’s actions off the court shortly before the June draft cast him as a chancy prospect.

Peeler, who had been sent to an alcohol-detoxification program during his freshman year at Missouri, was arrested on May 30 in Colombia, Mo., after a woman alleged that he had held a gun to her head and bitten her on the cheek.

Those charges were substantially reduced and Peeler eventually pleaded guilty to a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon and misdemeanor charges of restraint and assault. He was put on five years’ probation.

Peeler was arrested again a few weeks later, in another incident involving a woman, who claimed that Peeler had hit her. Those charges eventually were dropped.

Subsequently, during the June 24 draft, the Lakers, choosing 15th, found Peeler still available. Laker General Manager Jerry West took the gamble.

“Obviously, if all of this didn’t happen he wouldn’t have been around,” West said. “This kid has a tremendous future.”