The Lakers have signed 26-year old guard Trey Johnson for the remainder of the season and he will be elgible for the playoffs.  Johnson played in 7 games (0 starts) earlier this year for the Raptors and he averaged 11.6 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.6 assists per game.  He has now played in 11 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 8.6 minutes, 2.9 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  But, Johnson is only shooting 28.6% from the floor in his career to date, so don’t expect much out of him.

The Lakers have sent 21-year old small forward Devin Ebanks to the D-League to get more playing time.  Ebanks has played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 6.4 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  He will be playing for the Bakersfield Jam for the time being and it was the right move for the Lakers to make.

The Los Angeles Lakers have deal 26-year old shooting guard Sasha Vujacic and a first round pick in 2011 to the Nets for 35-year old forward Joe Smith.  The Nets also dealt 23-year old SG/SF Terrence Williams to the Rockets as part of this deal with the Rockets giving the Nets a first round pick in 2012.  The Lakers must have really wanted to rid themselves of Vujacic.  Vujacic played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this year and he was averaging 4.9 minutes, 1.8 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists.  He played in 420 games (12 starts) in his seven years with the Lakers and he averaged 14.3 minutes, 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Despite a reputation of being a good shooter he only shot 39.3% from the floor, 37.2% from the three point line and 87.6% from the free throw line in his time with the Lakers. 

Joe Smith is a veteran forward with some know how.  He played in only 4 games (3 starts) for the Nets this year and he averaged 6.3 minutes, 0.5 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Smith has now played in 1,018 games (619 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 26.5 minutes, 11.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  Even at his advanced age, Smith is still a better basketball player than Vujacic.

The Lakers have re-signed 24-year old shooting guard Shannon Brown to a 2-year, $4.6 million dollar deal. Brown played in 82 games (7 starts) for the Lakers last season and he averaged 20.7 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He has now played in 100 games (7 starts) in his two years with the Lakers and he has averaged 18.6 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. This was a good move for the Lakers as Brown will really help them off the bench. Brown turned down offers to start for other teams (Cavs and Knicks) to return to L.A.

The Lakers have signed 30-year old small forward Matt Barnes to a 2-year, $3.6 million dollar deal. Barnes played in 81 games (58 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 25.9 minutes, 8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He has now played in 444 games (162 starts) in his 7 years in the NBA and he has averaged 21.3 minutes, 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Barnes took less money and playing time from the Lakers than he would have got if he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Barnes is hungry for a ring and that’s the type of player who fits right in with the Lakers. I love this signing for the Lakers.

The Lakers have signed 37-year old center Theo Ratliff to a 1-year, $1.3 million dollar deal. Ratliff played in 49 games (29 starts) for the Bobcats & Spurs last season and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 3.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 800 games (533 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.5 minutes, 7.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Ratliff is #18 in NBA history with 1,963 blocks and he will be moving up that list in 2010-11 with the Lakers as he still appears to have some gas left in his tank.

The Lakers have re-signed 35-year old point guard Derek Fisher to a 3-year, $10.5 million dollar deal. Fisher played in 82 games (all starts) last season for the Lakers and he averaged 27.2 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has now played in 790 games (467 starts) in his 11 years with the Lakers and he has averaged 25.1 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Fisher is #9 all-time in games played (790), #2 in three pointers made (759) and #8 in steals (829) in Lakers’ history. The Heat courted Fisher but it was smart for the Lakers to bring him back. He will share the point guard spot with Steve Blake this season.

The Lakers have signed 30-year old point guard Steve Blake to a 4-year, $16 million dollar deal. Blake played in 80 games (38 starts) for the Clippers & Trailblazers last season in which he averaged 27.0 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He has now played in 499 games (299 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.7 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Blake is a good shooter as he is a career 39.3% shooter from three point range. Blake will either be replacing Derek Fisher as the starting point guard or Jordan Farmar as the backup depending if one of them re-sign with the Lakers. This was a very good signing for the Lakers as Blake is a pretty good basketball player.

The Lakers have signed 26-year old SG/SF Mickael Gelabale to a 1-year, non-guaranteed contract. Gelabale last played in the NBA during the 2007-2008 season with the Supersonics. He has now played in 109 games (14 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 15.6 minutes, 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. If Gelabale is healthy he will be able to help the Lakers off the bench.

The Lakers only pick in the NBA Draft Chinemelu Elonu has decided to play in Spain this season. He signed a two year deal to play overseas but he can get out of it after 1 year. Elonu wasn’t going to play much with the Lakers so this was a smart move for him.