Last night, the Lakers reached agreement with big man Jordan Hill on a two-year, $8MM deal.  The former No. 8 pick in the 2009 draft didn't necessarily shine in his seven regular season games for Los Angeles but averaged 4.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game in the postseason.  Here's more out of the Staples Center..

• Kobe Bryant isn't the only one high on Pau Gasol, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) says that Lakers brass has renewed excitement about him with Steve Nash joining the mix.
• The "high character guys" on the Clippers made Grant Hill's free agency decision an easy one, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.  Last season, Hill started 46 of 49 games for the Suns, putting up 10.2 points in 28 minutes per game. 
• The Clippers are also looking into re-signing forward Bobby Simmons, Turner writes.  "We've been talking," agent Mark Bartelstein said. "There is interest, but no decision has been made."

The Clippers announced that they have re-signed free agent forward Bobby Simmons, whose second ten-day contract expired on March 18.  Los Angeles decided to make the commitment after an MRI on Mo Williams' injured big toe ruled him out for Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN.com.

Simmons, 31, has averaged 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest in 13 games for the Clippers this season. 

MONDAY, 8:14am: Markazi has updated his story, saying that the Clippers will take the rest of the week to decide whether to sign Simmons for the remainder of the season. Coach Vinny Del Negro initially said the team would keep the forward, but according to Markazi, it became clear after yesterday's game that the team needed more time to decide whether to commit its final roster spot to Simmons.

SUNDAY, 4:00pm: According to ESPNLA.com's Arash Markazi, the Clippers will keep forward Bobby Simmons for the rest of the season. Simmons is currently on the final day of a second 10-day contract, which he signed on March 9th.

The 2004 Most Improved Player of the Year has averaged 3.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 12 games with the Clippers this season. A nine-year veteran, he was originally called up after averaging 13.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 21 games for the Reno Bighorns of the D-League earlier this season. 

The Clippers have signed Bobby Simmons to a second 10-day contract, tweets Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Turner had reported earlier this week that the Clips expected to re-sign Simmons when his initial 10-day deal expired.

Simmons, who won the NBA's Most Improved Player award in 2004/05 with the Clippers, joined the team last Monday on a 10-day contract. In his six games for the Clippers, the 31-year-old has averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 18 minutes.

If the Clippers want to retain Simmons when his second 10-day expires, they'll have to guarantee his contract for the rest of the season.

With ten days left until the 2012 NBA trade deadline, most columnists are looking ahead to next Thursday, exploring every possible scenario for moves contenders and non-contenders could make. Amidst all the trade speculation, Derek Page of HoopsWorld decides to look back at the offseason, assessing which trades and free agent signings have worked out best and worst so far this year, placing Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler atop the list of successes. Here are a few more Monday links from around the NBA:

• Raymond Felton, who Page named one of the season's worst acquisitions, will start for the Blazers tonight, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Given Jamal Crawford's success as a starter, it's unclear why Felton has been re-inserted into the starting five, but coach Nate McMillan insists it's not about showcasing Felton, tweets Joe Freeman of the Oregonian. I'm skeptical.
• The Clippers expect to sign Bobby Simmons to a second 10-day contract, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
• At SheridanHoops, Chris Sheridan lists a number of traded draft picks that could be important at this season's deadline.
• Wilson Chandler and the Nuggets are still talking about a contract for the restricted free agent, but there's nothing new to report, says Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
• Keith Langlois fields a handful of questions about potential Pistons trades in a Pistons.com mailbag.

The Clippers have signed Bobby Simmons out of the D-League to a 10-day contract, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times. ESPN's Marc Stein first reported over the weekend that the Clippers were planning to sign Simmons.

It will be the second stint with the Clippers for the 31-year-old Simmons, who won the Most Improved Player award while with the team in 2004/05. The 6'6", 220-pound swingman has played in parts of nine NBA seasons, the most recent being a two-game stint with the Spurs last year.

Simmons put up 16.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 2.7 APG during that award-winning season with the Clippers, but left to sign a free agent deal with the Bucks that summer and soon reverted to form. This year, he was averaging 13.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG for the D-League's Reno Bighorns.

The Clippers had an empty spot on their roster, so they won't have to let anybody go to bring in Simmons, who'll provide depth at the wing positions that was lost when starting shooting guard Chauncey Billups was lost for the year with a torn Achilles' tendon. Simmons is a career 40% three-point shooter, so he figures to help replace Billups' range, as well.

The J.R. Smith sweepstakes went down to the wire between the Knicks and Clippers, but New York ultimately won out, agreeing to a deal with Smith that could become official later today. Here's the latest on the Clips, as they move on to Plan B....

• Before Smith chose the Knicks, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro told Smith in a text message that signing with Los Angeles would mean a spot in the starting lineup, according to John Canzano of the Oregonian.
• The Clippers will hold a free agent workout this afternoon, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
• Former Clipper Bobby Simmons will be among the players at today's workout, says Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Spears reported yesterday that Jermaine Taylor would also be working out for L.A.