The Lakers were the toast of the summer last year, but after a profoundly disappointing season and the loss of Dwight Howard, they're taking a more conservative approach this time around. That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of rumors flying around the Staples Center as the team attempts to fill out its roster via the minimum-salary exception, the only tool to sign free agents that GM Mitch Kupchak has left. Here's the latest:
- Kevin Ding of the Orange County register hears that Lamar Odom might be warming to the idea of playing for the Lakers again. The team isn't high on him, so a reunion is unlikely, Ding tweets.
- Before news broke today of the Lakers' agreement with Elias Harris, Ding wrote that the team wanted to sign two more players this summer to partially guaranteed deals for the minimum salary. The Lakers are targeting players from its summer league roster, like Harris, and overlooked veterans (Sulia link).
- The Harris deal didn't shock Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, who believes summer league participant Marcus Landry could be the next to sign with the Lakers (Twitter link).
- The Lakers have been interested in Austin Daye, who worked out for the team this week, but Pincus gets the sense that the team wasn't enthralled with what it saw (Twitter link).