The Lakers had to know that this was a possibility when they drafted Gasol. The Lakers like Gasol’s future which appears to be bright so they will have no problem waiting until Gasol is ready to become a Laker.

The Lakers have brought back guard Derek Fisher on a three year, $14 million dollar contract. Fisher decided to return to Los Angeles as the city has hospitals that can care for his daughter’s rare form of cancer. He played in 82 games (61 starts) with the Utah Jazz and he averaged 27.9 minutes, 10.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He shot 38.2% from the floor, 30.8% from the three point line and 85.3% from the free throw line.

Fisher has now played in 782 NBA games (351 starts) and he has averaged 8.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has hit 39.7% of his shots from the floor, 36.8% from the three point line and 80.3% from the free throw line. The Lakers hope that the addition of Fisher will quiet Kobe Bryant down about leaving as Fisher is a friend of Kobe’s. He also is a slighty better player than Smush Parker is.

The Lakers have re-signed center Chris Mihm to a new three year contract despite the fact that he missed all of last season to injury. Mihm has played pretty well in his two healthy seasons for the Lakers. He has played in 134 games (131 starts) for them and he has averaged 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. He has shot 50.4% from the floor and 69.5% from the free throw line as a Laker. This was a good move by the Lakers only if they think Mihm is healthy now and that they think he can be for the next three seasons.

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-signed forward Luke Walton to a 6 year, $30 million dollar deal. Walton played in 60 games (all starts) and he averaged 33.0 minutes, 11.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Walton shot really well this season too as he hit 47.4% from the floor, 38.7% from the three point line and 74.5% from the free throw line.

Walton had by far the best season of his NBA career and it spiked his unimpressive career numbers a tad. Walton has now played in 262 games (73 starts) and he’s averaged 18.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. His shooting percentages all spiked too. He has now hit 44.2% of his shots from the floor, 34.1% from three point range and 73.5% from the free throw line. Look for Walton to continue to improve as a basketball player as he gets more playing time.