<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers have until Wednesday to sign Ronny Turiaf or the second-round draft pick will accept a more lucrative contract offer to play in Spain, his agent said. Turiaf has played five games in a rehabilitation stint with the CBA's Yakama (Wash.) Sun Kings, just about enough time for the Lakers to decide whether they want him this season, agent Bouna Ndiaye said Thursday. "I think if they don't make a decision, we'll probably take another job in Europe," Ndiaye said. "He's shown that now he can play. Two big teams in Spain have offered him so much more money than the NBA. The only thing is, Ronny wants to play in the NBA and that's his goal, but we can't wait another month. "He is getting in shape. Now they have to make a decision. Next week will be the deadline for sure. We're going to make it Wednesday." Turiaf, who underwent open-heart surgery in July, is averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Sun Kings. He has three more games before Wednesday. The Lakers could offer him the league minimum of $399,000, probably prorated to games played. Turiaf has been offered a contract worth $700,000 in U.S. money by a pro team in Barcelona, Ndiaye said. The Lakers, who paid more than $100,000 for Turiaf's heart surgery after an enlarged aortic root was discovered by team doctors, have had player-personnel evaluators at his CBA games. They have not, however, had formal contract negotiations with the former Gonzaga forward. "As we've said in the past, there were several steps that needed to be taken after he got the doctor's OK," Laker spokesman John Black said. "He's still somewhere in the midst of that process. At some point in time we assume we'll be signing him and he'll be a Laker. He's not ready for that at this time. "When we determine he's at the point where he's ready to be in the NBA, the assumption is we'll sign him. We fully expect that he'll be a member of our team at some time in the future." The Lakers would have to waive a player or shorten the roster via trade if they signed Turiaf.</div> Source Yeah we don't need Turiaf, the Lakers are just fine in the frontline and have no need for an energetic rebounder and defender. We really don't need a player who we drafted and worked his butt off to rejoin the team. Obviously, that was sarcasm, I have no idea why this has even become an issue. He's playing and averaging 20.4 MPG 9.8 PPG & 5.2 RPG.
wait, so what if he signs with a team in spain? do we still have his rights? like, lets say next season we need him, can we bring him back to the lakers? or will he still have to play in spain??
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting phiLA:</div><div class="quote_post">wait, so what if he signs with a team in spain? do we still have his rights? like, lets say next season we need him, can we bring him back to the lakers? or will he still have to play in spain??</div> We still own his rights, but if signs with Spain there will be a large buyout. It's a situation the Lakers need to avoid.
^ is it kind of like the situation with fran and the magic? if so, the lakers need to sign him now to avoid trouble later on.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting phiLA:</div><div class="quote_post">^ is it kind of like the situation with fran and the magic? if so, the lakers need to sign him now to avoid trouble later on.</div> Exactly, or Luis Scola and the Spurs. However, I think Fran signed a 4 or 5 year contract with the team in Spain. The main difference is Turiaf wants to play for the Lakers and in the NBA, Fran didn't feel he was ready for the NBA and was more comfortable playing in Europe.
Wait a minute I heard reports on the News that the Lakers had already signed Turiaf...that was not the case?
The Lakers need to get this deal done. Our frontline is thin and he can only help it. He'll bring energy to this team, something they really don't get from their frontline, and he's a solid rebounder. Beyond that, he might give them another option as a potential starter if Kwame continues his rather lackluster play and continue to NOT want to be the teams starting power forward.
