The Los Angeles Lakers could be interested in nabbing point guard Jordan Farmar, who is expected to be waived by the Los Angeles Clippers following their acquisition of Austin Rivers on Thursday.
ESPN correspondent Marc Stein reported the Clippers will waive Farmar to free-up playing time for Rivers in the Clippers' backcourt rotation. The Clippers front-office attempted to trade Farmer to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Ramon Sessions but the trade did not materialize.
The Lakers have been trying to add depth in its point guard rotation that features Jeremy Lin, Ronnie Price and rookie Jordan Clarkson. Farmar is averaging 4.6 points and 1.9 assists in 14 minutes of playing time behind Clippers starting point guard Chris Paul.
Taken 26th overall by the Lakers in 2006, the 28-year old Farmar spent majority of his NBA career with the purple-and-gold, playing a crucial role off the bench in the team's championship seasons in 2008 and 2010.
After spending one year in Europe, the UCLA alum returned last season for the Lakers, averaging 10.1 points and 4.9 assists in 22 minutes. He banked on his strong performance to sign a two-year, $4.2 million deal with the Clippers last offseason.
With Farmer available again, the Lakers could make a run for his service for the remainder of the season. Mitch Kupchack hasn't used yet either of the medical player exceptions: $4.5M from Steve Nash and $1.5M from Julius Randle.
Acquiring Farmar would not only provide the Lakers a familiar face in the lineup, but he also gives insurance in the backcourt in case Kupchak and his team pursues their plan in trading Jeremy Lin and his $8M expiring contract.
The Lakers have been eager to trade Lin and other expiring contracts in hope of getting additional assets before their contract expires at the end of the season.
Lin, who was acquired by the Lakers along with a first-round pick from the Houston Rockets last summer, is averaging 10.7 points and 4.6 assists per game in 22 minutes of action.
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