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The Los Angeles Lakers were unsuccessful in their efforts to court top-of-the-line players such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe and DeAndre Jordan this summer. But after acquiring Indiana Pacers big man Roy Hibbert on Saturday afternoon, Boston's long-time rivals added depth to their front line in the form of Celtics free agent forward Brandon Bass.
According to Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears, Bass is expected to agree to a deal with Los Angeles sometime within the next few days. But, as TNT sideline reporter and NBA.com scribe David Aldridge reports, the terms of Bass' new contract will all depend on other moves the Lakers are planning to make.
Celtics free agent forward Brandon Bass to sign with the Lakers, a source told Yahoo Sports
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) July 5, 2015
Confirm Brandon Bass agreement w/Lakers (@SpearsNBAYahoo first). Contract terms pending other LA moves. Lakers do have room exception.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 5, 2015
In Bass, the Lakers are getting a true model of consistency. During his four years in Boston the LSU product failed to register 10.6 or more points per game just one time and never failed to grab at least 5 rebounds a night.
"He's not Michael Jordan, but he does help make players better," Bass' agent, Tony Dutt, told the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach. "They see his work ethic. Some nights it's points, some nights it's rebounds and some nights it's leadership. I think those are the things he exemplifies."
While the Celtics had originally seemed interested in bringing the veteran back this offseason, the addition of Amir Johnson to a corp of big men already including Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Zeller, made Bass expendable.
Unfortunately, that won't make the loss of one of the better Celtics we've had over the past couple years any easier to swallow.