After replacing Mike Brown with Mike D'Antoni as the team's head coach, the L.A. Lakers have been a much better team, winning five of their seven games since the move.
Now, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, there's a possibility that the Lakers are in the running to add yet another high-profile veteran to their roster.
With the hiring of Mike D'Antoni as coach, the Los Angeles Lakers are showing a renewed interest in acquiring exiled Utah Jazz guard Raja Bell, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Bell, 36, has had strong advocates with general manager Mitch Kupchak and Kobe Bryant since the summer, but D'Antoni's history coaching Bell with the Phoenix Suns has amplified discussion of signing the veteran guard should the Lakers create an opening on their roster.
With a $100 million payroll and $30 million in additional luxury-tax expenditures, the Lakers are unsure about cutting a player, paying his salary and then paying the additional salary ($1.3 million) and tax that it would take to sign Bell.
As Wojnarowski points out, Bell's history with D'Antoni is an a key factor in the Lakers' decision to pursue the 36-year-old, as Bell's most successful stint in the NBA came under D'Antoni in Phoenix.
There, Bell blossomed into a NBA All-Defensive First Team selection, and also put up the best offensive numbers of his career, culminating with two consecutive seasons with 14.7 points per game from 2005-07.
Bell was a perfect fit for D'Antoni's up-tempo offense and meshed well with former Suns and current Lakers star Steve Nash, which is certainly an important consideration as well.
In addition, with little depth behind Kobe Bryant at shooting guard, Bell would be a nice insurance policy for the Lakers, especially if the team feels the need to gi...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
