After the threat of being the next NBA casualty to Europe, Sasha Vujacic and the Lakers have agreed to a deal.

After some tense negotiations, the Lakers and restricted free agent guard Sasha Vujacic agreed to a deal Friday afternoon, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak confirmed.

The deal, according to sources close to the player, is for $15 million over three years.

The 6-foot-7 guard is scheduled to earn $5 million per season. [Press Enterprise]

The deal is a step up from the $12mil/three-year that the Lakers offered him yesterday. So there it is. The Sasha sweeps is over. Sasha got paid, Mitch got his guy, and everyone is happy.

Well, most everyone. Sasha's $5mil/year deal makes him monetarily more valuable than both Derek Fisher and Andrew Bynum in their current contracts. This may bring up some questions as far as the financial situation that the Lakers are in. Despite the letting go of Ronny Turiaf, the Lakers are under pressure to extend Andrew Bynums contract for BIG money by the start of the season.

[Complete Story at LA Hoops Blog]

There's a possibility that Sasha Vujacic might end up in Europe come next season. Hat tip to The Lakers Nation.

First Atlanta's Josh Childress headed overseas, signing a lucrative deal from a Greek club. Now Houston's Carl Landry is entertaining offers from across the Atlantic.

Lakers' Sasha Vujacic also has been contacted by several European clubs, according to a Slovenian newspaper. (Probably a good move for him considering no NBA clubs have expressed interest in signing the restricted free agent).

Kobe Bryant said he wouldn't be surprised if Vujacic takes the money and runs to Europe (if the rumors are true) considering the Lakers aren't offering him more than a qualifying one-year deal worth $2.6 million.

"It depends on how much money they're throwing at him," Bryant said. "You got rules (NBA's salary cap), so you're playing with an uneven playing field. So if they want to throw a boatload of money at him." [OC Register Lakers Blog]

Interesting. This Euro fever, presumably sparked by Brandon Jennings' decision to forego the NBA's one-and-done rule, can't be good for the Association. Europe is growing in desirability among NBA players largely because of an influx of wealthy owners willing to dole out the cash to bring in high-profile players and varying tax policies.

It may all be fluke, but the trend is catching on. Could the NBA's image as the world's premiere basketball league be in peril?

[Edit: 6:16pm] Delonte West is in negotiations with Dynamo Moscow for a two year, $10 deal. Jason Kidd is also showing interest.

[Edit: 11:19pm] What started as a rumor, seems to be getting a little more serious.

Lakers reserve guard Sasha Vujacic, a restricted free agent, is prepared to leave the team and accept an offer from a European team in the next few days if the Lakers don't make him an offer he deems fair, according to a source in the Vujacic camp who spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

The source said Vujacic is seeking a multiyear deal from the Lakers averaging about $5 million a year. Vujacic was hoping for a six-year deal, but anticipated it could be shorter contract. [LA Times]

Ouch. $5mil/year? It's going to be an interesting few days, especially considering Mitch's goal going into the offseason was to re-sign both Ronny and Sasha. $5 million a year is a significant increase on Sasha's current contract, which sat at just over $1.75mil.

Putting the situation into perspective yields these results: Vujacic is arguably more valuable than Vlad Radmanovic, who is currently making $5,632,200, and Luke Walton, who is making $4mil. It all backfires, however, when $5mil/year would be more than Derek Fisher's deal by $649,000... not to mention, it dwarfs Andrew Bynum's current contract twice over and change.

The Lakers have a big decision to make in the coming days. LAHB will keep you current.

[Edit: Fri. 10:24am] Big development:

Vujacic, 24, is seeking a deal that will pay him between $5 million and $6 million per season, similar to what Jason Kapono (four years, $24 million from Toronto), James Posey (four years, $25 million from New Orleans) and Mickael Pietrus (four years, $25.1 million from Orlando) got. [Press Enterprise]

So, the deal is on the table; albeit $1mil short of what Sasha wants. Vujacic, who came out of the Finals with "I want be Laker for life," now has his chance to hold true on his statements for the time being. Now, we sit back and wait. As always, LAHB will keep you current.

[Edit: Fri. 3:41pm] We should be getting an answer within the next few hours:

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said he expects a "resolution" to the Sasha Vujacic contract situation later this afternoon.

"I hope it's pro-Lakers," he said. [OC Register Lakers Blog]

[Edit: Fri. 5:01pm] It's over. The Lakers and Vujacic have reached a deal worth a reported $15mil. Read about it.

[Complete Entry at LA Hoops Blog]

Hoopsworld is reporting that the Lakers are among a few teams working for a potential sing-and-trade involving Bulls' small forward, Luol Deng.

Reports yesterday suggested that Chicago Bulls' forward Luol Deng and his agent were ready to issue an "ultimatum" to the Bulls, basically saying if Luol did not have a deal done by September 1st, that he would back away from negotiations and not negotiate again with the Bulls. The reports suggested if Luol did not get a deal he's comfortable with, he'd sign the Bulls' $4.4 million qualifying offer sheet and become an unrestricted free agent next year and walk.

League sources suggested that the Lakers, Pistons, Heat and Jazz have all had discussions with Luol Deng's camp about the framework of a sign-and-trade. [Hoopsworld]

November 19th, 2004 was the last time the Palace hosted a bout of this magnitude. Some of the biggest names in the NBA battled it out on the court, in the stands, and in the hallways. This time, though it didn't leave the hardwood, it was some of the biggest names in women's basketball.

The game turned ugly in the final seconds as a collision between Parker and Detroit's Plenette Pierson turned into a shoving match that saw players and coaches from both teams leave the bench.

Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn, who was involved in the Pistons-Pacers brawl on Nov. 19, 2004, as a Detroit broadcaster trying to break up the fight, appeared to shove Lisa Leslie to the floor at one point.

Parker, Milton-Jones, Pierson and Mahorn were all ejected, while Detroit's Cheryl Ford left the floor on a wheelchair after getting injured while trying to restrain Pierson. [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

[Full Story and Video at LA Hoops Blog]

The Lakers closed out SPL play with a couple of big losses, Friday and Saturday, cementing a 2-4 overall record.

The Lakers, with the deepest (in terms of number of players) rosters in the SPL, were anchored by the one and only Coby Karl, who led the team with 13.8 PPG. Rookie, Joe Crawford came in a close second, posting 11.3 PPG.

On the boards, the hyphen crew held it down. UCLA alum, Lorenzo Mata-Real pulled down 6.8 RPG, and Terp turned Euro guy, Nik Caner-Medley averaged 5.0 RPG in addition to his 8.8 PPG. I've seen a few rumors of Caner-Medley preseason roster talk, but none have been confirmed.

[Complete Story at LA Hoops Blog]