Lakers re-sign guard Sasha Vujacic to a 3 year, $15 million deal.

He’s staying, no Europe.

“First Atlanta’s Josh Childress headed overseas, signing a lucrative deal from a Greek club. Now Houston’s Carl Landry is entertaining offers from across the Atlantic. Eroupe

Lakers’ Sasha Vujacic also has been contacted by several European clubs, according to a Slovenian newspaper. (Probably a good move for him considering no NBA clubs have expressed interest in signing the restricted free agent).

Kobe Bryant said he wouldn’t be surprised if Vujacic takes the money and runs to Europe (if the rumors are true) considering the Lakers aren’t offering him more than a qualifying one-year deal worth $2.6 million.

Such as two years, $50 million? That’s the amount Bryant jokingly said it would take for him to leave the Lakers and play in Europe.

“If he gets that, I’m calling Rob Pelinka (his and Vujacic’s agent) right now (and telling him) you better get me $150 million for two years,” he said laughing.”

SOURCE

LOS ANGELES — With great reluctance, the Los Angeles Lakers decided at Friday’s deadline they wouldn’t match Golden State’s offer for Ronny Turiaf, meaning the former second-round draft choice will move up the California coast to play for the Warriors.

ESPN.com’s J.A. Andande first reported the Lakers would not match the offer.

“There are emotional ties with Ronny that go beyond basketball,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said on a conference call. “I think that makes it difficult. I think organizations that draft players who turn out to be good players, it’s hard for them to let go of those players. And if you know Ronny, you know he’s a special kid.”

SOURCE

Luke Walton will have surgery Friday to remove bone spurs from his right ankle and expects to be out of action for four weeks.

Walton hopes the surgery will alleviate the pain he felt in the ankle all last season.

“It’s the kind of thing that you don’t know if the surgery will help. But I’m optimistic,” Walton said by phone.

SOURCE

According to a league source, the Lakers have contacted the Kings regarding Ron Artest and are believed to be offering forward Lamar Odom.

Kings’ basketball President Geoff Petrie declined comment on whether the Lakers had called.

“Right now, (Artest is) just a terrific player to have on your roster,” Petrie said. “I don’t really have any speculation one way or another (about his future). We’ll see what other things – not specific to Ron – but if there’s some other way we can improve the team or change the team, we’ll take a look at it.”

SOURCE

Shaquille Oneal attempts to jump over a Cadillac Escalade like Kobe Bryant Jumped over an Ashton Martin.

A nice cameo @ the end, enjoy…

The Lakers have talked with representatives of Boston small forward James Posey and veteran San Antonio sharpshooter Brent Barry to gauge the free agents’ interest.

Posey, a key reserve for the Celtics, is expected to draw the full mid-level exception of five years and about $30 million, though the Celtics have said they consider signing him an off-season priority.

Posey, though, is studying his options, primarily on championship contenders that include the Lakers, said his agent, Mark Bartelstein.

“I would say so,” Bartelstein said. “When you get a taste of a championship, you want to keep winning them. The Lakers are a great team.”

Posey, 31, averaged 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds a game in the playoffs for the Celtics, including an 18-point outburst in the pivotal Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Posey was also on the Miami Heat team that won the championship in 2006.

LA TIMES

Sporting News: First thing Wednesday morning, Sasha Vujacic will meet with the Lakers in Los Angeles, according to Bill Duffy, Vujacic’s agent. Vujacic is coming off his best year in the NBA, averaging a career-high 17.8 minutes per game and shooting 43.7 percent on 3-pointers, which was eighth in the league. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has made it clear that he’d like to hold the roster together and that keeping Vujacic and forward Ronny Turiaf are offseason priorities.

Complicating matters is that Vujacic and Turiaf are restricted free agents, which means the Lakers can match any offers they might receive. “We’re going to try to get a sense of what the parameters are to make a deal work,” Duffy said. “I think that both sides want to find a way to make something work.”