Before sustaining a serious knee injury, Xavier Henry was well on his way to breakout season for the Los Angeles Lakers, having shown well above average strength and athleticism at the NBA level. These days he looks like a shell of himself, failing to get the explosion when attacking the basket which was his staple earlier in the year. Savvy general mangers know the potential of Henry, but the problem is can he regain his past form during the summer?

Right now he is sitting out games from time to time to rest the the abnormal meniscus issue that surgery wasn’t required for. It makes one wonder if this will be something that will linger indefinitely with the natural conclusion of needing surgery in the future. To make matters worse, Henry also is nursing a fractured left wrist on his shooting hand, which will certainly require surgery at the end of the season.

The Lakers have the inside edge of how serious these ailments are since their doctors have been with him every step of the way. This leaves the rest of the NBA in the dark in putting a market value on Henry this summer and gives the Lakers an opportunity to bring him back on the cheap. Yet all it takes it one GM to take a gamble on him because of the massive potential he has when 100 percent.

It was just a few years ago Henry was a lottery pick out of Kansas, and he is still just 23 years old. Not many players can match his physicality on the perimeter along with being able to get to the free throw line. So while teams will surely flock to sign Jodie Meeks, Nick Young and Jordan Hill, it will be very interesting what happens to Henry during the free agent period.

Scott Groff is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ucla_unknown and add him to your network on Google.